blu's Tadelsa Compilation
by blunaowl
Summary: A compilation of my one-shots for the ever growing library aboard the Tadelsa ship, in no particular order. Rated T for occasional suggestiveness. A mix of fluff, humour and soul-destroying angst.
1. Latest Calibration Scan

Tadashi heads back to the lab ten minutes later, elusive tool in hand (_I swear, I had it just a second ago…_), a triumphant grin on his face, which slowly morphs into a frown when he sees Fred, Wasabi, Honey, GoGo and Hiro squeezed into the doorway.

"Guys? Why're y-"

He peers over Honey's shoulder and sees Elsa stood with her back against the work bench, Baymax stood about two feet in front of her, head covered in… is that coffee spray?

He pushes through the small mob at the door and walks over to his wife and lab partner. "Elsa..? Itoshii, what's going on?"

… she tries to respond. But she can't. Instead she just stands there with the rest of her coffee dripping from her mug onto her shoe and an incredulous look on her face, staring at the robot. Slowly, Tadashi turns. "Baymax?"

"I merely relayed the findings of my latest calibration test scan to Elsa."

A throat clears in the doorway and Fred leans forward slightly. Looking at the door, Tadashi can now clearly see the mixture of stupid grins and smug faces looking at the trio.

"What he actually said was," Fred pauses for a second, holding his finger up in the air and bouncing slightly on his toes. "'Low blood pressure, increased levels of progesterone, appetite and fatigue. Diagnosis: Pregnancy.'"

There's a small yelp as a coffee cup flies through the air and barely misses Fred's head, the last dregs deposited onto the lab floor.

"Mood swings are often indicati-"

That evening, it takes Hiro ten minutes to retrieve the tool from Baymax's arm.


	2. The Pout

"Oh, come on Elsa."

"Nope."

"Please?"

"No, Tadashi."

"_Please?_"

"I said, n- don't you dare. Don't you _dar- _Tadashi!_"_

He was wearing The Pout. Elsa had first seen it in action against Hiro, several months after they had first met. Tadashi was using his brother as a test subject for Baymax, and The Pout had made his brother re-enter the lab with a sigh and sit still for two hours, whilst Baymax scanned him, and Tadashi adjusted the robot's settings.

_Two hours._

It was a powerful tool to wield, and her husband dared use it on her.

Elsa raised an eyebrow, and had to restrain herself from smiling when she saw Tadashi flinch _ever_ so slightly.

They were at a stalemate, stood in the middle of the street, husband and wife staring each other down. A few people walking past gave them curious looks, and Elsa was sure she heard a man's voice quietly say, "I'd back down if I were him…". Just as she thought she saw Tadashi begin to crumble, she felt a tug on her arm.

_Oh no._

Haruki had discovered The Pout at around age 3, and was becoming rather skilled in its implementation. "Aunty Anna" and "Uncie Kwistoff" were particularly susceptible, and the young boy often had them both wrapped around his tiny little finger.

And now he was looking up at her, with stunning blue eyes that no one thought would last more than six months, peering from under his tousled black hair. Wearing that _damn_ pout.

"… this is unfair."

"Please, mommy?"

"…"

"_Please?_" She closed her eyes at the sound of her husband and son both pleading with her. It was pitiful.

But it was _working_.

She sighed heavily, and pointed at Tadashi, eyes still closed. "_You_ are responsible for it." Her arm started jerking around as the toddler attached to the end of it began jumping and cheering.

"Of course, itoshii." She could _hear_ him grinning, and she refused to look at his smug face as Haruki pulled her towards the door to the shop. Tadashi followed, putting a hand on Elsa's lower back and kissing her on the temple, before opening the door and walking in with her. Haruki ran ahead with a cheer, scaring a parrot on the counter.

"Fair warning, if _this_ one learns your puppy dog eyes, I'm fleeing to Norway." Tadashi covered the hand on her stomach with his own, "Don't go, Baymax's hugs are nowhere near as warm as yours,". He tried pouting again, but he couldn't quite manage it, a grin tugging at the side of his mouth, growing when Elsa slapped him on the chest.

"Mommy, mommy, mommy, look!" Haruki ran back over to them, tearing his mother's hand from his fathers and pulling her along, "Look, mommy! He's white and cuddly like Baymaz! Can we have that one, _please?_"

* * *

The puppy's name changed every hour for the rest of the day, until Tadashi managed to hold the two and four-legged bundles of energy still long enough to show Anna on a video call that evening.

"Aunty Anna! Aunty Anna, _look!_"

"What is th- oh my _gosh_, KRISTOFF! COME HERE!" Haruki giggled at her Aunt, and at the wet nose that appeared on her lap, followed by a bark and the rest of Sven's head. The puppy went wild, barking back at the screen, which made Haruki giggle even harder.

"Anna, what on Earth is going on, you'll wake Sonja-"

"Look! Look, look, look, he's so _adorable!_"

"… you always say that about your nephew." Even this far from the screen, Elsa could see Anna roll her eyes and she snorted. There was a pause as Kristoff was pulled closer to the screen, "… oh, man. You did the thing, didn't you."

Tadashi shrugged innocently, "I don't know _what_ you mean." His head shrunk slightly into his shoulders as Elsa stood behind him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "He did the thing."

"Woah, woah, wait. And you_ gave in?_ I thought the eyebrow was unbeatable!" Kristoff gawped, kneeling down next to his wife's chair, scratching Sven behind the ear.

"Yeah, well… he had help." Haruki grinned and held his arms triumphantly in the air.

"Aunty and Uncie, we need a naaame. I wanted to call him Fluffy, but he's not_really_ fluffy, he cuddly, but Cuddly's a silly name, and then daddy said I couldn't call him Baymaz, because Baymaz was already Baymaz and that would get confusing, and then I thought about Snowy, cos he's all white and-"

"Olaf."

Haruki immediately stopped his ramblings and frowned deeply, thinking hard about his Aunt's suggestion. "Oh-waf."

"O-laf," Elsa corrected softly, looking at her sister, smiling warmly.

"Oh-laff… Oooolaf. Olaf! I like it. Because it rhymes with woof!" Sven made an approving noise in response. "Sven likes it! Olaf, you are now called… Olaf!"

Tadashi let the pair of fidgets down from his lap and watched as they ran to the living room, Haruki unpacking the puppy's toys. He heard a sniff from behind him and his head snapped round to look at Elsa.

"Oooh, boy, Elsa, I'm sorry…" Anna cringed, biting her lip. "Eurgh, pregnancy hormones are the _worst_…" Tadashi pulled Elsa down to sit in his lap, rubbing her back, _just_ catching Anna's quiet explanation of the name's origins to Kristoff.

Mumbling sweet nothings into Elsa's ear, he heard Kristoff give a command to Sven, who bounded out of the screen with a bark… and then Anna started laughing.

"Ruff!" Sven rejoined his owners at the desk, stood at the table on his hind legs, his wet nose pushed almost right into the camera, before he pulled back slightly to reveal the squeaky carrot chew toy in his mouth.

Kristoff's voice, though it wasn't _quite_ his voice, came through the speakers, "Hey Olaf, got your nose!"

Anna doubled over in hysterics. Elsa's laughter rang throughout the house, prompting Haruki to come back mid-joke, and stand by his parents, looking confused. Kristoff pulled Sven away from the camera and took a quick bow, Tadashi gave him a thumbs up in response, grinning.

Anna excused herself as best she could, red faced and unable to breathe, to put her daughter back to bed. Kristoff signed off on her behalf, Sven barking a goodbye.

The first time they played Fetch with Olaf, Elsa was giggling too hard to participate.

* * *

Haruki - from the Japanese _晴 __(haru)_ "clear up" or _陽 __(haru)_ "sun, sunlight" combined with _輝 __(ki)_ "radiance, shine" or _生 __(ki)_ "life".


	3. Vous Parlez Francais?

This is influenced by a comment from Home by makingtodayaperfectday on tumblr:

_6\. She speaks French, Norwegian, Swedish, and Mandarin fluently. Currently learning Japanese. Maybe I should offer to tutor her? Not that she needs it because she's so smart…but still…_

* * *

"Doop do doo… doop duh-doo….. doop do doo… doo duh-doo…. doop du-heey!"

"Singing along to the ringtone again?"

"What? It's a good tune!" Tadashi couldn't keep a slightly embarrassed flush from his cheeks. "I can just _hear_ Fred yelling 'nerd' at me."

"You _are_ a nerd, Tadashi. But you're _my _nerd." Elsa grinned at her… boyfriend? Partner? They hadn't really decided on a label. They were just Tadashi &amp; Elsa, Elsa &amp; Tadashi.

Up until a couple of weeks ago, they had been inseparable for months. They had _finally_ stopped beating around the bush, much to the delight of various family members and friends, and had started dating. The final straw had been when Tadashi's robot, Baymax, after not fulling understanding what the lab students had been discussing, had downloaded information on relationships. The pair were having lunch along with Fred, GoGo, Hiro, Honey and Wasabi, in their usual corner in Aunt Cass's café, when Baymax had – rather loudly – pointed out various physical and emotional 'symptoms' the pair were demonstrating on a regular basis, and that, in order to resolve the unrequited feelings of love, they should simply 'change their current relationship status from lab partners to sexual partners'.

Elsa had turned beetroot red midway through Baymax's speech, pulling the hood of her sweater over her head, sinking lower and lower into her chair, until she very nearly slid off onto the floor. Tadashi had tried to force the robot to be silent, coming very close to ripping open the robot's outer shell and removing his speech processor. Instead of damaging him, he eventually dragged Baymax from the café to the bedroom he shared with his brother, and holding him there until he had finished talking.

Elsa had fled the café in his absence, and Tadashi hadn't seen her for the entirety of the weekend. But, being a creature of habit, Tadashi had found her in the lab on Monday morning, long before anyone else was due to arrive. He had shut, but not locked his lab door behind him, in the hope that Elsa wouldn't try and escape again, and they had talked for what seemed like an eternity. The talking had stopped long before the others had arrived at the lab, and Tadashi had emerged from the lab briefly to grab some coffee, looking very flustered and wearing a ridiculous grin on his face.

"Itoshii?" Tadashi's voice broke through her reverie, and Elsa brought her attention back to the screen, "Hmm?"

"You zoned out again…" He leaned a little closer to the screen, causing the camera to refocus on his concerned frown.

"Sorry." Elsa chuckled, "I just… I've missed you." Tadashi seemed put at ease at the genuine smile she wearing and leaned back in his chair.

"I've missed you too. How's everything going?" Tadashi watched curiously as Elsa seemed to rummage around on her desk for something, then laughed as she waved a white tissue in the air and pouted. "That bad, huh?"

"It's just… I'm surrounded by balding old talking heads, none of whom seem to want to come to any agreements over anything. I'm sure if I asked what colour snow was, they'd have twelve answers. They just…_ just…_" The young woman cringed, turning her nose up, her hands flexing and twitching slightly in front of her like she'd just been asked to put them in a bowl of something wholly unpleasant.

The picture made Tadashi laugh all the more. "You poor thing."

"I'm just glad Anna's here. Otherwise I think I might have frozen the entire board of directors yesterday just to liven things up."

"If you do that, can I watch on webcam?"

She smirked, "I'll make a no- oh no…"

A phone just outside of the picture had started to ring. Tadashi watched as Elsa leaned over slightly, looked at the caller ID and groaned, muttering something in Norwegian. She came back into view, "Tadashi, I'm sorry, I have to take this."

"It's okay, I'll hold, Ms. Business Woman." Tadashi grinned at the raised eyebrow, "Seriously though, go on, I don't mind."

"Are you su-"

"Yes..! Go, go!" Tadashi chuckled, leaning back in his chair and turning his attention to a different programme on his computer screen. He heard the sudden vacuum of silence from his speakers, indicating that Elsa had muted their video call.

There was silence in the lab; it was late, past midnight. Tadashi hadn't slept properly for the past two weeks, and had spent increasing amounts of time in his lab in order to take his mind off Elsa's absence. They had tried to have more frequent video calls, but given the time difference, Elsa's mind-numbingly dull board meetings and Tadashi's lab work, they had only really been able to communicate by text message, an email here and there. It had been hard on the both of them, and they had both looked forward to seeing each other – even if it was through a small video window.

_Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right, 'dashi? … not that I'm sure I can_get_ much more fond of the wom- … wait, what?_

There was a noise coming from his speakers again. A rather… exasperated noise –_ no, not a noise. A voice. … no way._

Tadashi minimized his work and pulled up the video call again. Elsa had disappeared from the picture, but her voice – _that's _definitely_ her voice – _was carrying right back to the microphone.

"Qu'est-ce vous fait qui pensez que je serais d'accord pour _cela_?"

_Oyamaa._

Work forgotten, Tadashi watched – or rather listened – to Elsa's half of the telephone conversation she was having. His knowledge of Norwegian was conversational at best nowadays – even with Elsa's patient tutelage, Tadashi had found it difficult to master some of the pronunciations of even the simplest words, disregarding the whole 'Æ, Ø, Å' debacle. He knew from a debate about furniture that Elsa could speak Swedish, but had simply put that down to Sweden's location in relation to her country of origin.

Tadashi had been eager to oblige when Elsa had asked him to teach her some Japanese, and despite her initial difficulty navigating the grammatical minefield, she was making slow but steady progress. He had been very impressed during their last conversation.

Not _quite_ as impressed as he was at this moment.

His grasp of French was limited to what little he had bothered to try and remember from his classes during elementary school. Though he wasn't able to speak very much, he was still able to understand some of what Elsa was saying over the phone, and what he couldn't understand through her words, he could _certainly_ understand by the tone of her voice.

… _she is not a happy bunny._

It was several minutes before Tadashi heard the conversation coming to a close, followed by a frustrated noise and a smattering of Norwegian. He heard the click of the phone being replaced in the cradle, before Elsa entered stage left, pushing herself back into view on the swivel chair. Tadashi waited patiently, silently, giving the blonde time to collect her thoughts, before quietly making his presence known – he realised by the startled look on his face as he did so, that Elsa had been so caught up in the phone conversation she had forgotten he was still there.

"They say French is a passionate language, but…"

She closed her eyes, cheeks that were previously tinged pink with exertion flushed red with embarrassment and hung her head, braid almost touching her lap. She reached up to rub her temples, before Tadashi heard a slightly muffled, "… you heard."

"Yep."

"How much did you hear."

"Enough to wonder _just_ how fluent you are." He flashed a cheeky grin, which only grew as Elsa looked up, eyebrow raised. "Wha-at? I'm merely suggesting that perhaps you might want to explore another type of passion the next time you break out into le français."

Elsa's eyebrow remained in place, but he spotted her small grin even as she brought her coffee mug up to hide it, and he decided to step it up a gear. "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce so- oh crap, sorry!" Tadashi peered into the camera, looking at the screen from various angles as if it might help him see Elsa coughing from her position off camera. It was only when he heard her laughing off-camera that he grinned again. "Where the hell did you hear _that_?"

"Aunt Cass used to watch a film that had that in a song. I was young! I had a spongey mind, and they kept singing it!"

Elsa pulled herself back into shot, dabbing at the table with some tissues, chuckling and shaking her head, "Well, in response to your question: autant j'aimerais beaucoup, je ne peux pas. Désolés."

"… what _was_ my question? I understood 'moi', but the rest-"

"Tadashi?" Tadashi fell silent, looking at her expectantly. She leaned forward, elbows on the desk and looked up at the screen with a mischevious grin, before continuing in a sultry voice, "I'll show you when I get back."

Tadashi swallowed hard and shifted in his chair. "But now… I'm afraid I have to go and deal with this." She waved in the direction of the phone.

"So… just… just how fluent _are_ you?"

Elsa merely grinned. "Au revoir, Tadashi. Faites de beaux rêves."

Sweet dreams, indeed.


	4. Snowboarding

"And here's the birthday boy!"

"Aunt Cass…"

"You could be _forty_ one, and you'd still be the birthday boy. Now, get yourself down to the café."

"… you're not going to make me work today, are you?"

"Even _I'm_ not that cruel. Go on! Downstairs!"

Aunt Cass shoved him to the top of the staircase by the kitchen. Deciding the Emergency Department would not be the best place to spend his 21st, he continued down the stairs unaided and walked out into the café that encompassed the ground floor of his home.

Sat at their usual seats were his friends from college, GoGo, Honey, Wasabi and Fred. A raucous cheer went up when they spotted Tadashi and they met him halfway, hugging him and wishing him a happy birthday.

It was only when Honey hugged him that he realised it wasn't just Fred wearing a bizarre choice in summer outfit. He pulled back from the hug and looked her up and down, taking in the ridiculous number of layers she was wearing and frowning. "Honey… why are you dressed like it's the middle of Winter?"

"Your surprise! Well… okay, _this_ is not your surprise, but we need to wear this_for_ your surprise."

"My surprise? Wh-" He looked past them and saw a rather large pile of bags and the snowboard that normally graced his bedroom wall, "…. wait a second…"

Hiro appeared at his side, wearing a toothy grin and a snow suit that was far too big for him. "We're going skiing!"

"I overheard you talking with Hiro a few weeks ago," Aunt Cass began, coming to a stop behind Hiro, her hands on his shoulders, a back pack by her side, "saying how much you enjoyed the family skiing trips when you were younger, and I thought it might be nice if you spent some time on the slope with Hiro now he's old enough to remember. You were a good snowboarder!"

"'Were'?" Tadashi chuckled, "Gee, thanks Aunt Cass." He got a light slap on the arm and raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Prove me wrong then!" His Aunt picked up his pack and passed it to him. "Come on, you're booked in from 10am, I want to get going sooner rather than later."

Pop. "Can we take this stuff off now? He's filled in, I'm melting." After groans of agreement from the others, they divested themselves of the snow gear and bundled it into their bags. After feeding the group a light breakfast and loading them down with snacks for later, Aunt Cass brought a small minibus to the front of the shop and once Wasabi and Fred (who had refused to remove his gear, which included the head of one of his mascot outfits) had loaded the gear into the back, they all piled in and headed off.

* * *

"Check this place out! It looks like real snow!" Hiro plastered his face to the window separating the entrance lobby to the side of the slope, watching as people flew past him. "This is_ awesome_."

"Agreed, little man. Agreed." Fred clapped him on the shoulder, "This is going to be a _good_ day."

By the reception desk, Aunt Cass was talking over details with the receptionist, who directed them to a one of the small waiting areas just next to what appeared to be a room filled with snow gear, snowboards, skis, and various other things related to winter sports. Aunt Cass gave the two brothers a hug and left to get back to the café, with promise of retrieval when they had finished for the day.

"Hey guys, come on over!" A blond man, his shoulders broad enough to rival Wasabi's, was stood near the entrance to the kit area, and he wandered over to them with a grin on his face. "I'm Kristoff, I'm going to make sure you all kitted up and cosy before you hit the slope." They followed him to the waiting area, Tadashi and Hiro both lingering near the entrance to the kit area, gawking at the sheer variety of gear within.

"Now, I can see some of you already have your own gear which is _great_. Those of you that don't, we've got a huge variety of stuff to suit you, and whatever sport you'd like to try out while you're here."

Immediately, GoGo, Fred and Hiro blurted out, "Snowboarding," with various degrees of excitement. Kristoff chuckled, "Noted. And the rest of you? You'll all be together as a group, regardless of what you choose."

It took a few minutes and a bit of careful consideration, but Wasabi and Honey both decided that they would snowboard as well, to try and make things easier. It didn't take long before Kristoff discovered that the snowboard was Tadashi's, and that they were there because of him.

"Well, happy birthday. Don't worry; we won't announce it to the rest of the slope. We find it can be a little distracting when everyone looks your way at the same time. Not to mention all the more embarrassing if you fall." Kristoff cringed – there were clearly a few tales behind this particular policy.

It took about half an hour to make sure everyone was toasty enough to brave the cold – Hiro was given something to wear that didn't make him look like an under-inflated marshmallow. Fred's dinosaur head was given the all clear, the fact that he couldn't pull it over his head didn't dull his enthusiasm in the slightest, especially after he was given a green helmet to match. After checking Tadashi's board to make sure it was safe to use, Kristoff fetched boards for everyone else, including a bright pink one for Honey. After she'd taken a selfie with the group and they had squared their belongings away, Kristoff tugged his beanie down over his ears and lead them to the entrance to the slope, trudging through the snow at the base of the slope.

"Elsa!"

About halfway along, two people, one dressed in blue gear, the other in green, were sat on the barrier separating spectators from the people bombing towards them. Kristoff called again, and both their heads turned in their direction, blonde and red braids flying over shoulders. The blonde woman hopped down from the wall into the snow, the red head turned and slid down into the spectator area.

"Elsa, I have your next victims!"

"Kristoff, you can't say stuff like that! At least not in earshot." She flashed a grin at the group, punching Kristoff lightly in the arm when she reached them. "Hi, everyone. Don't listen to him. Social skills of a reindeer."

Tadashi buried his head slightly into the high neck of his jacket to try and hide his dropped jaw. The woman's hair was almost as white as the snow itself, and the blue of her snow gear seemed a dull grey compared with the blue of her eyes. She had a lopsided grin on her face and Tadashi wondered how all the snow was still intact given how warm he was getting.

"Everyone, this is Elsa, our resident Snow Queen."

"Oh my god, _one time_." There was an odd noise from the back of the group as Wasabi tried to smother his outburst with a coughing fit.

"Elsa, this is birthday boy Tadashi and brother Hiro, then… Fred, GoGo, Wasabi and Honey. Did I get that all right?" There was a chorus of positive responses from the group. "I've already told Tadashi about our birthday wishes policy."

She chuckled, "Thank you, Kristoff. And happy birthday, Tadashi." He popped his head up to say thank you, before delving back into the sanctuary his jacket provided.

"I'll leave you to it. I have Anna's kiddie group turning up any minute now."

"It's been an honour serving with you, Kristoff." She rested a hand on his shoulder and he gave a solemn nod, looked down at the floor with a sigh… before he stood up straight with a grin, waved his goodbyes to the group and walked back to his store room.

Elsa grinned and turned her attention to the group in front of her. "So! All snowboarding, by the looks of it, so… let's find out what you're all capable of, shall we? Anyone snowboarded before?"

They stood talking at the base of the slope for a short while, Elsa finding out their levels of experience and discussing what the day would have in store for them. Given that the levels of experience were fairly low, and that Tadashi hadn't snowboarded since he was little, they started out easy, working their way up the slope a few metres at a time. Disregarding the first hour, in which everyone spent more time sat down on the snow rather than stood up on their boards, the group made steady progress. Tadashi found that his childhood boarding skills were slowly coming back to him, and Hiro was picking things up quickly, getting the occasional feeling of déjà vu.

GoGo was eager to make her way further up the slope, but Elsa managed to keep her at a safe height until she'd mastered _stopping _to Elsa's satisfaction. Fred was doing his best, sticking with Hiro and pulling the younger boy back onto his feet as often as he was pushing himself back up.

Not comfortable on snowboards at all, both Wasabi and Honey traded in their boards for skis at Elsa's suggestion, much happier when they were able to move their feet independently. When Kristoff had returned them to the snow, Elsa let the other four practice what they had been taught so far, whilst coaching Wasabi and Honey in the basics of skiing, before the whole group broke for lunch.

"Can we come here again for my birthday? _Please_, Tadashi?"

Tadashi pulled off his helmet and grinned down at his younger brother, "You'll have to ask Aunt Cass, buddy. But I don't see why not." Taking off his jacket, he sat down around a table with the others, breaking out the various treats that Aunt Cass had packed for them.

He listened to the group talking about the morning's entertainment: GoGo was talking with Hiro about how far up the slope they could make it before the day was out, but also reluctantly agreeing that they probably weren't ready for the ominous looking red slope just yet. Fred was debating with Wasabi and Honey whether snowboard or skis were best. Tadashi was wondering just how long he could keep up his amateur act before Elsa saw through his attempts to have her coach him more than was necessary.

Unfortunately for him, he clearly wasn't doing a good enough job.

"Tadashi, I thought you said you knew how to snowboard?" Wasabi's curious gaze turned towards him, followed by everyone else's. Fred piped up next, "Yeah, I thought you'd done this loads of times!"

"I… well, y'know, I just… I'm out of practice is all."

"Uh huh. And the hot instructor has _nothing_ to do with your lapse in memory." Fred smirked, popping some sushi into his mouth.

Pop. "My god, boys are _so_ predictable."

"Hey, I don't blame you, she's damn cute." Fred nudged Tadashi in the ribs, causing his sushi to fall from his chopsticks.

"I don't have a crush on the instructor."

"He didn't say you did…" Honey grinned, sipping innocently at her drink. Tadashi's face turned a deeper shade of red as he ate his lunch.

"You _totally _have a crush on her! Wait until Aunt Cass fin-"

"Noo, no. You do _not _say anything to Aunt Cass, she'll want to drag her back to the café."

"Aww, look at you getting all protecti- ow! Hey, I need that leg to ride the slopes!"

"Shut up then, Fre-"

"Hey guys, ready to get back out?"

"Sure, Elsa! Say, Tadashi here was wondering if he could maybe head up the slope a little? He's ready for it." Fred flashed a cheesy grin at the blonde instructor, expertly masking the pain of Tadashi kicking him in the leg, which stopped immediately when Elsa looked down at him.

"I don't see why not, you seemed to have remembered most of your childhood skills. Shall we give it a go?" She grinned that lopsided grin again, and Tadashi couldn't say no.

* * *

"Okay, so just like before, we'll go down together. Just keep a hold of my hands, and you'll be fine, okay?"

_Hold her hands and you'll be fine. Physically, anyway. That's the important one, right? _Tadashi just nodded, looking down at the intermediate slope. At the bottom, Wasabi and Honey were slowly but surely side stepping their way up the slope to have another go at the beginner's run, and the other snowboarding amateurs were watching Tadashi's run from the side of the slope.

"Are you ready?"

Tadashi swallowed, taking her proffered hands, "As I'll ever be."

"On three. One… two… three!" Elsa kicked off, pulling Tadashi over the incline. It didn't take too long to build up speed; the snow was perfect, the run was smooth and clear and Tadashi was suddenly reminded of the first time he'd been down a yellow slope as a kid. With a whoop, he let go of one of Elsa's hand and fist pumped the air as he zipped past their spectators, and his momentary loss of balance would have sent him flying had Elsa not been keeping a tight hold of his other hand. When he reached the bottom (and apologised profusely to Wasabi for spraying him with snow) he grinned at his instructor.

"Can we do that again?"

She chuckled, and waved a hand to the ski lift, following him over and up the slope again. They picked up the others on the way up, and Elsa carefully and methodically explained how to transfer the skills they'd learnt lower down the slope to the higher speed. She demonstrated with Tadashi's help a couple of times, before Tadashi went it alone. After a long while practising, GoGo and Hiro were chasing each other down the slope, Fred providing commentary as he followed them at a slightly slower pace. Towards the end of the day, Kristoff leading the way, Honey and Wasabi ventured towards the yellow slope as well, both of them making the descent whilst holding onto Kristoff's waist, their skis interlocked with his own. He took Hiro right up to the top of the slope just as the slope was beginning to close for the evening, the young boy standing on the back of his skis, and cheering the entire way down.

Elsa slid over to Tadashi once his brother had made it to the bottom, his shouts of joy echoing around the large hall. "Want to try?"

Tadashi rubbed the back of his neck, wincing, "Ooh, I dunno. Not sure I could stand on the back of that guy's skis without wiping out the both of us."

"You can stick to your board if you like. Come on, I'll take you up." He opened his mouth to decline… but promptly closed it again. _You've been holding hands for most of the afternoon. She's just _teaching_ you. Get a grip, man._

He followed, watching his friends get smaller and small as the ski lift took them to the top of the slope. Once they'd reached the limit, Elsa hopped into place, and indicated where Tadashi should stand. "Don't be nervous. You've done great today, you'll be absolutely fine now." She held out her hands for him to take, and Tadashi almost fell flat on his face when that lopsided grin appeared on her face again.

_Woman up, Tadashi._

He hopped into position in front of her, taking her hands, looking down the slope. He'd never been this high up as a child, his mother had never allowed it. He would occasionally sneak further up the slope under his father's watchful eye, but never right to the top.

"Tadashi?"

"Uh huh."

"Are you ready?"

"… uh huh."

"Sure?" She gave his hands a reassuring squeeze, the sensation forcing him to look at her.

"… yes."

"Okay. On three. One…"

_You can do this Tadashi._

"Two…"

_This is nothing. Just a lil' hill._

"Three!"

_She looks really cute when she's excite-_

Elsa slid over the edge and started down the incline, Tadashi gripping onto her hands so tight he was sure his knuckles had turned white inside his gloves. The wind rushed through his hair, and as he was staring down the slope he caught sight of Elsa's braid flying behind her in his peripheral vision. The grin on her face was infectious, and Tadashi found himself whooping just as his brother had done, letting go of her forward-most hand, but refraining from fist pumping the air again.

They were already halfway down the slope when he realised that Elsa had let go of his other hand, and he was steering himself down the slope on his own. He grinned harder, all of his previous experience kicking back in, and he reached the bottom of the slope with his arms raised, cheering and came to a graceful stop in front of Wasabi, who he had again covered in snow. Hiro tackled him to the ground mid-apology, yelling about how awesome his brother looked and how they just _had_ to come back here for his birthday and how_awesome_ his brother looked.

Kristoff and Elsa stood to the side of the group, chuckling at the hyperactive teen, who showered them in praise because this was the best birthday ever, even if wasn't his, and _did you see how awesome that was!,_

Kristoff helped the group remove their various boards and skis, and led them back to the store room, Elsa walking at the back, next to Tadashi. "So, I know your _brother_ enjoyed your birthday present. Did you?"

"This… it's been amazing. Thank you. I think I'd have fallen flat on my face a few dozen times if you hadn't been so patient."

The blonde chuckled, "You're welcome. But you're better than you give yourself credit for. A couple more days practise and you'd be flying down that slope."

"Is this where you pull out the membership leaflets?"

"Noo, no, I was being serious. But now you mention it…" She smirked at his slight eye roll, "I'm kidding. I'm just glad you had fun." They had reached the edge of the small waiting area they had started out in, and Elsa held out an ungloved hand to Tadashi, "So. Hiro's birthday?"

He chuckled, pulled off his glove and shook her hand, "Seems like. Thanks again."

"You're welcome. Enjoy your evening, Tadashi. Bye everyone!" She let go of the birthday boy's hand and gave the group a parting wave, before leaving the group with Kristoff to come down from their adrenaline highs, but not without a quick passing grin at Tadashi.

They were still buzzing by the time Aunt Cass had arrived to pick them up. She entered the hall to see the group going through the motions they had learn during the day on the carpeted floor, and chuckled as they quickly launched into an explanation of their day to her.

"It sounds like you had an awesome time! I might have to tag along next time."

"Only if Tadashi doesn't still have a crush on the instructor."

"_Hiro!_"

"Oooh, really? Who?" Hiro took her by the hand and dragged her to the viewing window, where they could see various members of the slope staff rearranging the snow for the next morning. Hiro pointed Elsa out as she wandered by, and Aunt Cass tilted her head, "Oh, so _this_ is where she works!"

Six heads turned to face Aunt Cass, but it was Tadashi that broke the stunned silence, "You _know_ her?"

"Sure, she comes into the café every so often. Chocolate doughnut and a vanilla latte. Quite the sweet tooth, that one. Her _and _her sister."

"She has a siste- ow!"

Pop.

"Mhmm. Elsa's a lovely young woman. Quite reserved though, very poli- wait, did you say Tadashi has a _crush_ on her?" Hiro grinned toothily, nodding. Tadashi groaned. "Ooh! I'll let you know when she's next in the café!"

"Aunt Ca-aass…" _… note to self: Chocolate doughnut and vanilla latte._


	5. Valentine's Day

_You're cute, little robot,_

_Your 'skin' white as snow_

_And I do like warm hugs,_

_But_ please_ let me go._

* * *

"Please, Elsa? _Please?_ "

Elsa had never heard Kristoff plead like this before. It was rather amusing. She smirked, wondering just how long he might keep it u-

_Woah, okay, begging on your knees is too much._

"Kristoff, get up."

"... please?"

"Of _course_ I'll cover Anna's shift tomorrow." Kristoff stood up and pulled Elsa into a hug, lifting her up off the floor.

"Thank you, thank you, _thank you_! I'll make it up to you, I'll... I'll get chocolate or something-"

"Kristoff, don't worry about it, honestly. You don't owe me anything... you could put me down though."

_Besides, it's not like I've got any plans for the 14th._

In fact, she had been so certain of her lack of plans, she had already planned to cover Anna's Saturday shift, doing everything over the course of the previous week and managing not to arose suspicion. Kristoff had asked until the eleventh hour to say anything, and she had been on her way to volunteer when he'd found her in the corridor outside their changing rooms at work.

Kristoff finally put her down and apologised, before all but skipping away to get changed and get back to the apartment that Elsa, Anna and Kristoff shared.

_... maybe I should build an igloo here for the weekend._

* * *

Elsa had always been an early riser, and so as not to be a third wheel in any of Kristoff's plans that day, she decided she would creep out of the house and take advantage of the quiet Saturday morning streets, before heading to work in the afternoon.

Skipping breakfast, she had a lightning quick shower, got dressed just as quickly, grabbed her coat... then fell over a small white pile of... something sat directly outside her front door.

"Ow..! What in the hell...?" She turned herself around, sitting on the floor and rubbing her knee. She looked at the white plastic blob on the floor, no larger than a football. "What idio-" She fell silent as the white blob inflated with a small his and two little black eyes appeared on its... head?

It stood up on two little pudgy legs and walked over to her, holding a three fingered hand over her knee. There was a beep, and a green cross appeared on the front of the blob, followed by a sad cartoon face. Too fascinated by the little blob to attempt escape, she watched as it slowly lowered it's hand onto her knee. She felt a cool sensation emanating from it's palm, and her knee felt slightly numb, the small pang that she had felt after falling to the floor completely gone.

The robot - that's what she assumed it was anyway - removed it's hand slowly, before returning it's arm to it's side and taking a step back. She noticed that the face on it's chest had been replaced with a happy one, before it returned to a blank opaque white.

Elsa sat looking at the robot with fascination. Who had left it there? Had it been intentionally abandoned in front of her front door? No, that couldn't be the case. What reason would anyone have for that?

Had it escaped from somewhere? It clearly had medical capabilities; perhaps it had wandered from the local hospital? But it was miles away, and why would it camp outside _her_ door?

She watched it for a few more seconds. Suddenly, the screen on it's chest came to life again, and a stylised red heart appeared on the screen and it held it's stubby little arms out as if...

_... the robot wants a hug_.

Elsa frowned, and watched as the small squishy robot waddled over to her again and in lieu of any other body part to grab hold of, it fell onto her legs and wrapped it's arms around them, hands barely touching. And stayed there.

It felt slightly warm. And although it was _most_ bizarre, it wasn't entirely unpleasant. However, she did have to move at some point. Besides, what might the neighbours think if they saw her being attacked by a tiny cuddly robot in the middle of the corridor?

_They'd put it on the internet, that's what they'd do. Or worse still, they'd show Anna._

Deciding it was in her best interests, especially given how her sister would react if she appeared at the still wide open front door, she moved her legs in an attempt to detach the robot from her.

It wouldn't budge.

"Uuh... you... you can let go now. Please... please?"

The robot's head tilted up to look at her, still holding on tightly.

"I... this is cute and all, but... I have to get up."

The robot seemed to register her request and let go, returning to its previous position, about a foot away from her.

She got up slowly, and watched as the robot's beady little eyes seemed to follow her every move. She closed the front door, and took a few steps down the hall, and it followed her. She stopped, it stopped. She moved, it followed.

"Are... are you... following me?"

The robot said nothing, but the happy face appeared once more on its chest. She took that as a yes.

"...why?"

It opened its arms again and took a step towards her.

"Woah, it's okay... I... I don't need another hug right now." She lowered her hand when it came to a resting position again.

"...who left you here?"

The heart.

_... oh boy._

* * *

"Good morning, Elsa! I didn't think I'd see you until tomorrow, everything alright?" Aunt Cass had quickly realised that Elsa was quite the creature of habit, unlike her sister - she always had the same drink, unless she could be convinced to be a guinea pig for a new item on the menu, and Aunt Cass had successfully timed her watch by Elsa's pre-work appearance for a week. Seeing her alone on a different day was cause for concern.

"Uhm... yes, everything's fine... is uhm... is Tadashi here?"

Not oblivious as to what day it was, Aunt Cass grinned. "He's in the living room. Why don't you head up there? Don't worry," She began, already halting Elsa's polite refusal, "You won't be interrupting. He's only finishing his breakfast."

Elsa didn't move for a moment, so Aunt Cass flipped up the small hatch in the counter top to allow the girl to pass through, before gently steering her to the staircase. She failed to notice the small robot plodding along behind her, simply walking under the hatch and then tackling the stairs like a toddler.

Elsa's long legs brought her to the top of the staircase before it had managed the third step, and she quietly called out, "Tadashi?". She heard an affirmative noise come from the direction of the open plan kitchen, and as she turned the corner she saw Tadashi in a t-shirt and short pyjama bottoms, sipping on some tea. He turned to face the person who had enquired after him and almost choked on the hot liquid.

"Elsa! What're... I mean... uhm... morning." He grabbed a towel to wipe up the tea that had dribbled down his chin and onto his top, and then seemed to realise he was still in front of his pjs, moving slowly to stand behind a chair at the dining table.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Cass said I could come up, I... I didn't realise you... sorry." Elsa sheepishly looked at him, unsure as to whether to avert her gaze or not, and to be honest, not really sure if she wanted to.

"It's... it's okay. Uhm... how... how can I help you?"

"Well... I was hoping you might be able to explain something."

"...okay." Elsa didn't elaborate any further, and appeared to be waiting for something. "Uhm... what is-"

"Just... hold on a second."

Tadashi waited, quite literally holding on to the back of the chair he was hiding his legs behind. A few seconds later and he saw it - the small robot had finally made it's way up the stairs and waddled over to stand next to Elsa, looking up at her expectantly. Tadashi stayed quiet.

"I uhm..." Elsa looked down at the robot, then over at Tadashi, "I stumbled upon this little robot outside my apartment this morning. Literally, actually. Since then it's been following me around and... hugging my leg whenever I stand still for more than a few se- ... see?"

Tadashi nodded sheepishly, looking down at the robot attached to Elsa's leg, oblivious to the inconvenience he was causing his recipient.

"Tadashi," Elsa's voice was softer, her gaze lowered slightly, her cheeks tinted red. She smiled warmly, but with a hint of amusement, "Did... did you build him?"

There was a pause, and Tadashi shifted uncomfortably, his bare feet feeling stone cold on the hardwood floor. "He... he wasn't supposed to be... quite so clingy."

Elsa ducked her head even more, and Tadashi couldn't make out her expression. He shrank slightly as she spoke again, "It's... It's not that I'm not grateful..."

_But it's a lame present and why the hell would you do that Tadashi, you_ idiot.

"... but I have to go work in a couple of hours and I can't justify leaving something this _adorable_ in my locker." The words came out in such a rush that Tadashi had to repeat what she'd said in her head to figure out what she'd said.

"Uhm... then... well, you could... uhm... leave him here with me, and I'll... tweak him a little so he's not... quite so clingy. And you can have him back... later." Tadashi rubbed the back of his neck, hoping his face wasn't as red as it felt.

"That... that sounds great. ... thank you." She bent down to try and detach the robot from her leg, but it wouldn't let go.

"Here... let me." Tadashi left the safety of his dining room chair, walking over and bending down to the robot. With a carefully placed tap, the robot let go of Elsa's leg and deflated back to the size it had been when she first fell over it. He straightened, picking up the small robot parcel, smiling sheepishly. "Maybe some instructions would be good too, huh?"

"Maybe." Elsa grinned at him, blushing just as hard as he was. "Thank you. I uh... I need to head to work."

"Okay. Have... have a good day."

"You too." Elsa smiled, her gaze flickering between the robot and it's creator, before heading back down the stairs.

* * *

Elsa pushed herself up off the sofa, tea in hand, and wandered to the front door to answer the bell. She saw nothing in the peep hole, then opened the door up, revealing... still nothing. Frowning, she peered up and down the corridor before she felt a soft thud hit her in the leg.

She looked down and saw two beady eyes staring back up at her. She crouched down slowly, putting her mug down to the side of the door, noting that the small white robot detached itself from her as soon as she began to move, and then hugged her again once she was stationary.

Her grin growing slowly, she shifted to look down at the robot, "... who sent you?"

It took a step back, and yet again, a stylised red heart appeared on it's chest, the clarity and colours sharper than she remembered. She looked at the robot carefully; on the surface he didn't appear to have changed much. He wasn't any bigger than she remembered - have been dwarfed by another white robot she knew -, he still had no mouth to go with his beady eyes, but there were subtle changes to the material he was covered in, the way his stubby limbs were attached.

The heart on the robot's chest faded away once more, and he took a step back. Slowly, a pair of much longer legs came into view, and Elsa stood up to greet the owner.

"Still as adorable as you remember?"

"And then some."

"Success! And only one year late!" Tadashi raised his hands into the air, and Elsa giggled.

"You are _such_ a nerd."

"You'll get no argument from me on that point." He lowered his arms from the air, wrapping them around Elsa's waist instead. "I give warmer hugs though, right?"

"Hmm..." Elsa's face suddenly became incredibly thoughtful, looking between human and robot. "Might have to conduct a few more studies before I can come to a conclusion."

Tadashi pouted. "Only a few?"

"You're right." She looped her arms around Tadashi's shoulders, pulling him closer, "We'll need several, very thorough tests before I can give you an informed response."

Tadashi slowly closed the gap between them, bringing his lips to hers, "With pleasure."

There was another thud near ground level and something warm attached itself to both Elsa and Tadashi's legs.

"Maybe without the robot around, huh?"


	6. The Fire - Part One (Hiro)

"Callaghan's in there. _Someone_ has to help."

Hiro watched as his older brother ran back up the steps and back into the raging inferno. He took a step to follow, but turned at the sound of his name. "Elsa.."

"Hiro, where's Tadashi. I've looked _everywhere, _ I can't-" She stopped, following the younger boy's gaze as he looked back up the stairs. "No... no.. no, no, n- Hiro, _let go!"_

"Elsa, stay with Aunt Cass!" Hiro dragged his sister-in-law down to the bottom of the staircase, before turning around and running after his brother. As his foot touched the top step, he was forced to squint against blinding light, before a massive blast of heat hit him head on, the force sending him flying back down the stairs.

The sound of the explosion rang in his ears and he pushed himself up off the ground in a daze, fighting to keep his elbows from giving way. He could her voices, but they sounded muffled, like he was encased in jello. Blinking hard to force the lights dancing in front of his eyes to fade, he could see figures rushing about. His Aunt suddenly filled his vision, holding his face and staring directly at him, tears falling from her eyes. He rubbed his ears and slowly, he heard his Aunt's voice filter through in greater and greater clarity.

"Hiro! Hiro, are you alright? Say something, _please!_"

"Yeah... I'm okay, Aunt Cass, m'-"

Aunt Cass pulled him into a hug so tight he could barely breathe, rocking him back and forth, kissing him on the head, hands gripping tightly to the fabric of his hooded top. "Oh, thank _god_, my poor boy... my sweet little Hiro..." She buried her face in his shoulder, and it was then Hiro caught sight of the building in front of him... the building he'd been trying to get into...

"Tadashi... TADASHI!" He pulled himself free of his Aunt's embrace, half crawling, half running to the bottom of the staircase before his legs gave out and he hit the ground again, panting. "TADASHI!"

"Hiro!" Aunt Cass ran over to him, falling by his side and pulling him close again, refusing to let him move again.

Trapped, Hiro looked towards the building, and from his low perspective he could hear, rather than see, Elsa's screams at bystanders to let her go, to get to her husband. The building rumbled again, fire belching from the windows, glass shattering. He watched as Wasabi and Fred dragged the hysterical woman down the staircase, pleading with her to see sense.

"Elsa, stop! You can't go in there!"

"Elsa, think of the _baby_!"

Aunt Cass tightened her hold on her nephew, as Hiro watched Elsa collapse on the staircase as a result of Wasabi's plea, wrapping her arms around her swollen stomach, her heart wrenching sobs that much clearer now she was at the same level as Hiro. Wasabi and Fred looked at each other, barely able to understand the horrific scene they had just witnessed, nevermind how to comfort a distraught wife. Possibly- probably widow. Hiro caught Wasabi's gaze as he looked over to him and his Aunt, and watched as his shoulders slumped even further.

Hiro saw Aunt Cass's hand waving in his peripheral vision, and Wasabi carefully knelt down beside Elsa and picked her up in her arms, in much the same way Tadashi would do if she dozed off in the lab after lunch, before carefully laying her on the camp bed he kept in the corner in case of late night project work.

Wasabi gently sat Elsa down next to Aunt Cass, who removed an arm from around Hiro and flung into around the sobbing blonde, stroking her hair. Hiro reached out and took her hand, his gaze falling to the ground.

None of them moved for what seemed like an age. Hiro finally heard sirens, and saw the flickering blue light hitting the orange tinted concrete. He heard the rush of water, and the hiss of steam as people worked to smother the flames. He saw heavy boots, and the blue legs of someone crouching down in front of them, followed by another, a large bag dropped to the side, purple-gloved hands undoing the zipper and revealing the medical equipment inside. He heard them talking to all three of them, but only his Aunt was listening, answering for all three of the family members. His gaze was forced upwards by one of the purple hands, and he found himself looking directly into the eyes of an EMT.

"Hiro? Can you hear me?" He nodded. "Good lad. Does anything hurt?" He nodded. Everything hurt. "What hurts the most?" He shrugged. He couldn't answer that. "I'm going to check you over, alright? Tell me if anything hurts." He let the EMT slowly assess him, the feeling of his hands poking and prodding and patting all over him strangely distant, and completely different to the feeling of his Aunt's hand on his back, Elsa's hand in his. The latter was soon removed, as EMTs carefully extracted a now deathly silent Elsa from under Aunt Cass's arm, slowly walking her to a nearby ambulance.

His EMT was talking to him again.

"Hiro. We need to take you to hospital for some checks. Your Aunt will be with you the entire time. I need to put a collar on you for the trip, okay?" Hiro sat there in silence, as the EMT strapped a collar around his neck before motioning to another pair of legs, who moved in, placing a stretcher on the ground.

"No."

"Hiro, sweetie?"

"I... I wanna walk. I want to go with Elsa. I don't wanna lie down."

"Okay, sweetie, it's okay. It's okay..." Aunt Cass mumbled into the side of his head, and the legs left with the stretcher. He started to push himself up on shaky arms and legs, his Aunt supporting him and slowly, they followed Elsa to the ambulance she had been put into.

Hiro watched as the rear door closed, shutting out the image of the burning Exposition Hall. There was a whimper from the bed, tears rolling down Elsa's face as the doors closed, her left hand extended as if she were reaching for something beyond the closed door. Aunt Cass took her hand and held onto it, rubbing the back of her knuckles, her other arm snaking around Hiro again, tightening as the ambulance began to move, leaving the sounds of chaos behind.

Leaving Tadashi behind.


	7. The Fire - Part Two (Aunt Cass)

"Ms. Hamada?"

Aunt Cass jumped when a hand lightly tapped her on the arm and turned to face the voice, expecting to see yet another nameless nurse or doctor. Instead, she was greeted with the forced smile of a police officer.

"Ms Hamada, we're sorry to disturb you," His partner stepped forward and nodded; she didn't respond. "We need to ask you about what you saw at SFIT. Your nephew as well."

Oh, she'd seen plenty. She seen the fantastic microbot display put on by her genius younger nephew. She'd seen the look of immense pride that his brother had worn during the entire show. She'd seen the ecstatic looks on their faces when Hiro had been accepted to the university, right before she'd pulled them both into a hug.

Tadashi's _last_ hug.

"Ms. Hamada..."

Cass blinked, and the officer crouched down beside her chair, next to Hiro's bed. "Ms Hamada, did you see, or hear anything that may have been the cause of the fire? Or a contributing factor. Anything at all."

Cass looked to the floor, thinking. She had been with Tadashi's friends when she heard it - a low rumble that reminded her of the earthquakes her brother helped her through in their childhood home, tugging her away from her toys and under the coffee table, even when he became too big to fit under their with her.

Someone had shouted, a man's voice, before the entire scene around her had erupted into chaos. She had pushed the group of students towards the door and had called out for her nephews. She'd spotted Tadashi's cap waving above the crowd, and looked down at the man holding it. He'd closed the gap quickly, grabbing Aunt Cass's hand and shoving Elsa's into it, before pushing them towards the door. He'd then grabbed Hiro and pulled him up onto his back, the younger boy holding on whilst they ran.

Aunt Cass reached the front door and kept running, dragging the younger woman along with her down the staircase and onto the green. She came to a stop, turned to Elsa, making sure she was okay. The coughing woman had waved her concerns away, before they both started to look around for the brothers.

They couldn't see them.

Aunt Cass went one way, Elsa went another. She scanned the crowd for what seemed like hours, shouting out both their names with no response. There was another massive rumble, a flash of light from the entrance of the building, followed by the sound of an explosion that left her ears ringing.

It was only when she'd heard an agonizing cry that she knew where Tadashi was. She ran.

"Ms. Hamada..."

She wasn't able to catch her nephew before he hit the ground.

"_Ms. Hamada..._"

If only she'd stopped sooner, maybe Tadashi wouldn't have gone back.

"_Aunt Cass._"

She looked up at the boy in the bed, covered in ash, clothes dirty and torn, his face red from the heat of the explosion. She followed his nod to look back at the police officer.

"... no. I didn't see anything."

"You didn't see anyone-"

"She just said she _didn't_ see anything, alright?" Aunt Cass could bring herself to stop Hiro as he pushed himself up off the bed, and glaring at the officer. "Why don't you guys go and bother some-"

He fell silent at an all too familiar and horribly painful sound coming from another bay in the emergency department. Aunt Cass's eyes widened, and she looked to Hiro. "Stay here."

"But-"

"Stay _here_, Hiro!" She shoved the police officer out of the way, and forced herself through the wandering medical staff to the source of the distress - two more police officers were stood in the small bay, looking at each other for guidance and finding nothing. Aunt Cass dragged them out of her path and made her way to Elsa, who had forced herself as far into the corner of the bay as she could manage, hugging her knees. She crouched down in front of the sobbing woman, and took a hold of her hand. Aunt Cass started muttering to Elsa, trying to calm her down, even just a little. She stopped suddenly when she heard one of the officers clear his throat behind her.

Eyes narrowed, jaw clenched, she stood up and stormed over to them. "What the _hell_ did you two say to her? Look at what you've done! You should've come to me!"

"Uhm, sorry ma'am, but..." The officer shrank slightly under the much shorter woman's glare. He looked about twelve. A child playing dress up. He had no business talking to any of them. "We needed to speak with Mr. Hamada's next of kin _first_. That's Mrs. Hamada." He glanced over to the blonde, still curled up, but silent.

The other uniform-clad child spoke up. "Ms. Hamada, we came to inform you all that... the fire department has made a preliminary search of the building and... we've found a body."

Aunt Cass's glare softened immediately, and she forced herself to say, "...whose?"

"The ID and bank cards in the wallet found in a pocket lead us to believe the body is that of Mr. Tadashi Hamada."

There was a strangled noise from behind the police officers and Aunt Cass saw Hiro peering in from around the corner. She wanted to reach out to him, but she couldn't move. Up until now, his death had just been an assumption. No one could have survived the explosion. But to hear it confirmed like _this..._

"We'll still need a family member to confirm, but someone will contact you about that in due course." They didn't wait for a response, the female officer tugging on her colleague's elbow, leading him from the bay, leaving the three to suffer the full crushing weight of reality.

Later on, in the early hours of the morning, Aunt Cass heard the pleading voice of Honey, and assumed the other three voices belonged to the others in Tadashi's group of friends. They fell silent, the sound of footsteps coming closer and closer before she saw several feet visible under the pulled curtain. She squinted slightly at the light that filtered in, before it was blocked behind Wasabi's bulk.

"Aunt Cass... can... can we come in?"

She nodded, her neck stiff from how her arms had been positioned for the past... who knows how long.

She watched as the four students came in, covered in dust and ash, exhaustion written all over their faces. She felt movement from underneath both her arms and Elsa and Hiro slowly woke up from their restless sleep.

Somehow - Aunt Cass was simply too drained to try and remember - the trio on the floor were engulfed in a hug from the students. None of them said a word, no pointless apologies, no words of condolence, just their presence, right through until morning.

She still felt lonely.


	8. The Fire - Part Three (Elsa)

"_There _you are, Elsa. Is everything alright, sweetie? Do you want go and lie down?"

Elsa looked at Aunt Cass, the older woman looking up at her, eyes brimming with concern, her hand running slowly up and down Elsa's arm. The blonde shook her head, "No… I just needed the bathroom." Cass's hand moved from her arm to her back, rubbing in soothing circles. Elsa's morning sickness had returned with a vengeance a few days after the explosion, the stress causing the once minor inconvenience - suffered purely in the morning, Tadashi at her side keeping her braid out of harm's way - to haunt her constantly. She was grateful that the café was still closed, the smell of coffee conspicuously absent, but Elsa doubted she'd be going anywhere when it reopened.

She couldn't stand being at their- her- _the_ apartment. Everywhere she turned, there was something of Tadashi's. His favourite coffee mug, half empty on the coffee table. The desk in front of the window was littered with half finished designs, projects he was working on, his rushed scribbles on sticky notes stuck to the side of his computer screen. She'd attempted to stay there at one point, determined to convince herself that things would get better. She had reassured her family and friends that she would be okay and she was, for a few minutes. She'd been so tired, she'd gone straight to bed, and the instant her head had hit the pillow, she'd been surrounded by his scent. The warm, spicy scent of his shower gel, combined with a hint of lubricating oil from his work that he could never quite scrub himself clean of; the smell that was so uniquely Tadashi.

She had cried herself to sleep, only to be woken an hour or so later by a nightmare so vivid, that the smell of burning wood, metal and something she never wanted to imagine again, had thrown her out of bed and into the bathroom, bringing up the tiny amount of dinner she'd been able to stomach. On shaky legs, at some god forsaken time of night and moving purely on adrenaline, she had walked the considerable distance to Aunt Cass's shop, ringing the doorbell on the side door to her home, rather than the café. Aunt Cass had opened the door, bleary eyed, rolling pin in hand. The pin fell to the floor the second she saw the younger woman, stood on the doorstep in pyjamas, unlaced trainers and one of Tadashi's baggiest hoodies, long since claimed by his then-girlfriend Elsa. She had dragged her inside, steered her up the stairs and onto the sofa, before filling her up with green tea and as much toast as she could manage, before spending the rest of the night by her side. Hiro had come downstairs the next morning, refilled all their mugs and sat by on the other side of his Aunt, greeting Elsa with a quiet "Morning," as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

Aunt Cass hadn't let Elsa stay anywhere else after that. She had re-dressed Tadashi's old bed, still tucked away in the corner of Hiro's room and Elsa had taken up residence, helping out around the house where she could.

A week and a half later, and the living room was now filled with those who had attended the joint funeral for Tadashi and Professor Callaghan, the mentor whom Tadashi had died trying to save. There had been nothing of the Professor to bury, so they had erected a simple headstone next to Tadashi's. Elsa, Aunt Cass and Hiro had been equal parts relieved and horrified that they would not be required to identify Tadashi's body, as the fire had wrought so much destruction it wouldn't have been possible. Aunt Cass had held them both, telling them it was for the best, that they should remember Tadashi how he was. Easier said than done.

"Elsa?"

Aunt Cass lightly touched the blonde's cheek and Elsa jumped, breathing hard. She focused on Aunt Cass's voice, following her instructions - deep breath in… and out… in… and out…

"Y'know w-what… maybe… maybe I will go and… have a lie down." She bit her lip hard, until she was certain it might bleed. She was sick of crying. She hadn't even cried this much when her parents had-

_Hiro_.

The younger boy was sat at the top of the stairs, blocking her path. He was looking solemnly at his smart black shoes, looking a lot older than he had a few weeks ago. Elsa walked slowly up the stairs, squeezing onto the step beside him, waiting. She'd spent enough time in her own head to know that it took more than a few seconds to put your thoughts into words.

"I keep expecting to walk in and see him on the computer. Or find him downstairs making really bad lattes."

"Out cold on the sofa after working late… deliberately singing off-key in the shower."

"He does-… he did that to you too?"

"I'd turn the tap on in the kitchen so he'd stop."

"Never worked." Elsa and Hiro looked at each briefly, smiling slightly at their shared response, before looking back down the stairs.

"… everyone keeps saying he's still here."

Elsa sniffed. That was the hardest thing to hear. She could just about handle the constant "We're sorry for your loss", all the offers of help, most of which she knew were just words. But he wasn't there anymore. Tadashi _was _gone.

But he _wasn't_. Not completely. He was still there; in the things he'd left lying around, in the silly stories they had of his antics, in the wonderful memories she had of their first meeting, their first date, their first night together and all the other nights that followed. When he'd proposed a mere six months after their first date, and she was so sure of his love for him that she said yes before he'd even finished asking. The day, two months after they'd returned from their honeymoon in Japan, that she'd purposely asked him if Baymax was loaded on any information about pregnancy, because they were going to need it. He'd ran through the university grounds like a mad man, hugging anyone and everyone who didn't get out of his way quickly enough, and two days later had put all his project work on hold in order to update Baymax with all the information he could find. Elsa smiled sadly, remembering how his gorgeous brown eyes had lit up when she had playfully called him 'Dad'.

Her face fell when she realised he would never hear it from his child's lips.

Suddenly, Elsa grabbed at the bannister, taking a shaky breath inward. She heard a worried, "Elsa?" from Hiro, but before he could run downstairs to his Aunt, she grabbed his arm, pulling him closer. His face flickered between worry and confusion, before settling on wonder, as Elsa took his hand and held it against her stomach.

She watched as Hiro's lips turned upwards into a small grin, his hand shifting to better feel the movement of his unborn nephew. "… Tadashi, version 2." Elsa looked at him, fresh tears beginning to form, but smiling.

"He is still here."


	9. nurse Elsa AU

Aunt Cass jumped at a thud from the room above her, followed by a yell of frustration. Frowning, she made her way up the staircase, calling out cautiously, "Tadashi? Sweetie? Is everything alright?" She walked to the end of the corridor, tapping gently on the frame of the thin, sliding door. "Tadashi?"

She listened, listening to the quiet rumble of castors on wood, padded feet making their way slowly to the door. It slid open, revealing the tall, muscular figure of her oldest nephew. He looked drained, his jet black hair flat on his head from hours of sitting under his baseball cap. He rubbed his face, scratching at the stubble that he'd been too distracted to care about. He ran his hand to his ear, tugging at the lobe, "Sorry, Aunt Cass."

"Tadashi, you look exhausted. Why don't you come and have a cup of tea or something, take your mind off your work, hmm?"

"No, I'm fine, I ate…" He checked the time on his watch and raised an eyebrow in surprise, "… eight hours ago." He watched as Aunt Cass merely raised looked at him with a deadpan expression, crossing her arms in front of her.

"… okay, I'm coming." He pulled his pencil out from behind his ear, throwing it back onto the desk, before following his Aunt in the living room. It was late, the café below them had been closed for hours, the patrons long gone for the evening. The TV was on, the adverts playing quietly. Moshi had taken total control over the sofa in the short time Aunt Cass had been gone, save the small spot at the end of the sofa where Tadashi's brother Hiro was upside down, headphones in, playing games on a handheld console, kicking his feet in the air.

Tadashi walked over to the kitchen, making himself a sandwich whilst Aunt Cass started boiling the kettle."So what is it you're stuck on?"

"It's…" To others, he might have just continued with 'complicated' and left it at that. Not with his Aunt. She wasn't as into robotics as he or his genius younger brother was, but she was interested in whatever it was her boys were up to, and Tadashi would never dream of insulting her intelligence. Experience had proved on numerous occasions that talking things through with his Aunt would often help him find the solution to his problem, whether it was one of her suggestions, or simply saying the problem aloud in more basic terms. "It's the programming. I have all the information, but… there's no way to communicate it. just recites symptoms and standard treatments, there's no…"

"… personality?"

"Right," Tadashi said, with a heavy sigh. "I mean, he's a robot, I know, but… he's _robotic_. Who'd want to talk to a nurse that's just spewing stuff from their textbooks? I know I wouldn't." He took a bite of his beef and tomato sandwich, running a hand through his hair and turning up his nose at the mustard he'd left on his forehead.

Passing him a paper towel, Aunt Cass frowned at him, "Have… have you ever actually spoken with a nurse?" Tadashi shook his head, continuing to chew. "Y'know, maybe if you want to give your robot a nurse's personality… you should get an idea of what sort of people they're like?"

"That… that would be great. But I can't just go down to the hospital and ask one to stop treating a patient so I can find out what lollipop is most effective with crying kids… I've tried."

"Maybe you don't have to. There's a nurse that pops in some mornings. Lovely girl. I'm sure she'd be happy to answer a question or two. You'd have to get up fairly early though. She's normally my first customer."

* * *

'First customer' meant a 7am wake up call for Tadashi, who hauled himself out of bed on the off chance that a random nurse wouldn't run screaming at his bed hair. He pulled on a pair of pants and a t-shirt, before wandering down the stairs, meeting his Aunt in the living room and grunting a good morning at her.  
She chuckled, pushing her mug of coffee to him, "Here. You clearly need this more than I do." Patting him on the back, she finished her breakfast, before heading downstairs to open the café.

Tadashi drained the coffee mug and wandered downstairs a few minutes late, giving the caffeine time to kick in. Sure enough, Aunt Cass was happily talking to someone, working her magic with the milk steamer. Tadashi padded down the stairs in his socks, peering around the corner to see if the customer was indeed the nurse his Aunt had spoken about.

The person was crouching down, their bottom half clad in royal blue pants and trainers. _The early morning wasn't for naught, then._ Tadashi found himself staring slightly through tiredness, not at all surprised when a feminine voice replied to Aunt Cass. He rubs his eyes, and was about to make his presence known, when the nurse stood up and Tadashi wondered if he wasn't still in bed, dreaming.

The woman looked to be in her early twenties, much taller than Aunt Cass, with a long, luxuriously thick blonde brain slung over her shoulder. As his Aunt moved back to the coffee machine, the nurse took a seat on one of the counter stools, covering a huge yawn with the back of her hand. He didn't hear the comment that Aunt Cass made, but it clearly amused the nurse, and she grinned back at the older woman with the cutest, lopsided grin Tadashi had ever seen.

Remembering to breathe, he looked down at himself and the clothes he had thrown on without a care in the world, before sneaking back up the stairs and to the bathroom, making himself more presentable than he'd ever been that early in the morning.

Fifteen minutes later, he made his way back down the stairs without the secrecy of his first visit, strolling out to stand behind the counter with his Aunt, who smirked at the change of appearance. "Aaah, Tadashi, there you are. C'mere. I'd like you to meet someone." She took him by the arm, pulling him over to stand opposite the nurse. He swallowed hard as he came face to face with the nurse. She looked exhausted, and a small, clearly sleep-addled part of Tadashi's brain wanted to bundle her up in several duvets and let her sleep until the following morning.

"Elsa, this is my nephew, Tadashi. Tadashi, this Elsa. She works in the emergency department at SF University Hospital." Aunt Cass grinned, looking between the two. Elsa was the first to speak, holding a hand out over the counter, smiling politely.

"Aah, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Tadashi."

"And you, Elsa- wait, 'finally meet me'?" He looked at Aunt Cass with no small amount of concern.

Elsa pulled her hand back with a grin, before explaining, "Your Aunt mentioned that you're working on a nursing robot, or something?" She slipped slowly at her coffee, looking at him curiously.

Tadashi looked at his Aunt, who had conveniently begun to sidle away to clean, before looking back to Elsa. "Yeah. It's my project at uni. Unfortunately, it's little more than a walking medical encyclopaedia at the moment." He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling half-heartedly.

"Still, that's a good place to start. I know plenty of nurses… doctors even, who have winning personalities and can't tell one end of a needle from the other." Elsa chuckled, sipping her coffee again, playing with the hand of the mug. "Scary thought, actually."

Elsa looked up at Tadashi and caught his slightly worried look. "Oh! No, but there are _plenty_ of competent doctors and nurses there, don't worry, you'd be fine. Not that you'd be fine if you were in the ED in the first place… I'm… I'm sorry. I'm tired, I tend to ramble a bit when I'm tired." She hid her sheepish smile in her coffee mug, sipping slowly.

Tadashi smile had grown with every second of her ramble, and he chuckled slightly, "No, it's… it's fine. Uhm… listen, maybe not now, I don't want to intrude on your coffee time, but… I'm trying to find out a bit more about the bedside manner of nursing. I mean, the information's great and all but, I want my robot to use it effectively and appropriately. Would… would you mind if I ran some stuff by you? A few questions here and there… sorry, I know it's a bit presumptive, but-"

"Sure."

"… huh?"

"The occasional question and answer session's not a problem. If what your Aunt's already said about your robot is correct then…" She yawned again, covering her mouth with her hand, and mumbling an apology before continuing, "It could be a really good tool. Besides, being the only person here so early can be a bit quiet at times."

"… thank you. I'll uhm… I'll leave you to your-" He peered into the mug, trying to determine what drink she'd ordered. "… latte? No, I smell chocolate. Mocha."

"Bingo."

"Awesome, what do I win?"

Elsa chuckled at his childish grin, and looked around the counter top. "Uhm… this spoon?"

Tadashi took the proffered utensil and held it aloft like a trophy, "And with this, the world is mine." He wiped the triumphant look from his face when he heard a spluttering noise, apologising profusely to Elsa, who was wiping coffee from her chin, trying not to laugh. "I'm _really_ sorry… I'll get you another one-"

"It's fine, really. I should be getting home, anyway… I'll hold you to that, though."

"Deal. Have a good day, Elsa." He put the spoon in the dishwasher, before giving the departing Elsa a small wave.

"You too, Tadashi."

Tadashi watched her leave, and was about to head back upstairs before his Aunt spoke - he could _hear_ the smirk on her face. "Hey, Lord of Spoons? Could you pass me a pen?"


	10. Kankū Dai

Based on a prompt by thearendork:_ Oh yeah, you do karate? __One-shot challenge: Tadelsa, sparring/karate basics teaching, shenanigans. :P_

A kata ('form') is a series of techniques performed in sequence. Kanku Dai is a kata taught to brown belts and above in Shotokan karate. The levels of fluff were brought on by a full day of Frozen Fever mayhem. I make no apologies.

* * *

Elsa liked Sundays. Sundays were lazy days; days that she could forget about lab work, projects and classes and lose herself in the mundane.

With the fresh start she had found when she moved to San Fransokyo, Elsa had tried to force herself into better habits. Some habits were more difficult than others to break - she still found herself still working into the early hours of the morning, as she had done in the few short years she had actually acted as CEO of her father's airline before abandoning the post to her sister. Even with the board of directors helping her, she had still been required to play a significant part in the running of the company, and more often than not, Gerda or Kai would haul a dozing Elsa from her father's old office to her bedroom, to spend what little was left of the night in relative comfort.

Though she had made considerable effort, the habit just wouldn't budge. On a number of occasions, one of her classmates had arrived at the labs in the morning and found her hunched over her desk, fast asleep. Said classmate would wake her up, force a cup of coffee, tea or energy drink into her hands and state the obvious - she was working too hard, that it was only her first year, it was only her first _semester_, and she still had plenty of time to work on her project. She would politely agree, the classmate would continue with their own routine, and nothing would change.

Some awakenings were more pleasant than others. Fred and Hiro were loud enough to wake her up before they'd even entered the room. GoGo would show very little sympathy, saying that she only had herself to blame if she fell asleep during lectures - something which thankfully, hadn't happened... yet. Wasabi and Honey would show a bit more concern, but it would slowly turn into lecture about working too hard.

Tadashi would show concern, but offer his assistance every time. No matter how much of his own work he had to complete, he would always offer to help Elsa with whatever it was she was working on. Sometimes, when he was taking a break from his own work, he would pass by her desk and ask her how she was progressing. Once or twice, when she was completely bamboozled by what it is she was working on, he would convince her to take a break with him, often without her realising until they were stood in front of a coffee or vending machine.

It had been Tadashi who had managed to convince Elsa to join him and the rest of his friends on Fridays at the Lucky Cat Café. She had briefly been there on her first evening in town, where she had first met Tadashi, before she knew she was going to be in his class, and it had only taken one reminder of the wonders that were Aunt Cass's chocolate doughnuts to make her join them every Friday.

Get-togethers on Fridays slowly lead to get-togethers on Saturdays, which then lead to get-togethers... whenever it was suggested by someone. In fact, she had grown to love the café so much, that she had worked it into her Sunday routine.

First off, a walk through the park. Whatever the weather, she would walk the same meandering path, come across the same yawning dogs walkers, the same joggers, and an old woman who seemed to sit in the same bench day in, day out, feeding whatever bird or small animal happened to be in front of her.

The warmer spring weather had brought with it a few extra people, but Elsa would distract herself from the steady trickle of new faces by focusing on the natural beauty that had begun to spring up all around her. Cherry blossoms had started to fill the entire park, slowly breaking up the huge expanse of green with a wide array of pinks and reds, which only seemed to intensify as the sun rose above the array of traditionally styled buildings that lined one of the park. Late one night, after a particularly horrifying nightmare a few weeks prior, she had looked out of her window towards the park, and the view of the blossoms almost glowing in the moonlight had nearly made her cry.

But now it was sunny, there was a cool breeze, and Elsa found herself drawn to sit under a particularly old cherry blossom, gnarled and twisted, but still casting an ethereal glow upon the ground, the steadily climbing sun seeping through the leaves.

She'd only been sat there for a few minutes before an unfamiliar sound caught her attention. It was a huffing sound, short and sharp, as if someone were blowing out a match. It was occasionally broken by a longer, slower breath; almost a sigh. Elsa frowned, listening carefully. After a while, she noticed it followed a bizarre sort of pattern, with a muttered cry mid way through, and towards the end, before it was repeated.

She pushed herself up from the grass, brushing herself off and slowly, silently, following the sound. She gently pushed aside a small overhang of blossom from the tree and saw a man in a vest and sweatpants, performing a series of movements on a path, the speed of the movements matching the pattern of breaths. Elsa watched as he leapt, turning in mid air, landing a few feet away on his hands, one leg bent under him, the other outstretched. There was a pause, before he pushed himself up, swiping at the air near his right thigh with the side of his hand.

Elsa's eyes went wide as she recognised the man, but he didn't seem to notice her at all. Tadashi stepped forward, chopping the air again, before turning around and sweeping his arm as if to push something away. He turned to face behind him, performing the same sequence again, punching a second time, before turning into another move.

Elsa watched, utterly transfixed and uncaring that her curtain of cherry blossom had fallen behind her, but Tadashi was too focused on what he was doing to see her, hidden in plain sight. He moved gracefully from one position to another, yet Elsa could see immense bursts of power at the end of each move, the muscles in his arms, his back, his entire body tensing for a split second before he relaxed and continued. He slowly spun almost full circle, his arms sweeping around in front of him, before he came to a stop. Elsa could see he was somewhat breathless - what had looked almost effortless had caused small beads of perspiration to trickle down from his hairline, down the contours of his neck and onto his vest. Tadashi turned, reaching for a small towel and water bottle the Elsa hadn't realised was in between them, and her cheeks took on the shade of the tree she was stood in front of within seconds.

"... Elsa."

"... hi."

Tadashi rubbed the small towel over his face and through his hair, before slinging it around his neck. "Sorry, I... I didn't see you there. I tend to get a bit... zoned out when I practice."

"... what _was_ that?"

"A kata. Kankū Dai."

"... Kankoo what?"

Tadashi chuckled and took a small swig of his water before continuing, "Kankū Dai. It means 'To look to the sky'. It's a karate thing."

"_Ooh._.. I... I thought I saw a... y'know..." She did a small karate chop action in the air, "or two."

Tadashi moved slightly closer, standing in the shade provided by the tree. "Shuto uchi. Knifehand strike." He dropped his bottle on the floor and took hold of her still outstretched hand, adjusting it's position. "You need to hold your thumb in tight, right up against your finger. This muscle here," He ran a finger up and down the base of her thumb gently as indication, "will tense up. See?" She nodded, suppressing a shiver as his finger brushed against her wrist.

"When people do a 'karate chop', they normally flick their hand about. You'd end up hurting yourself rather than the person you're trying to strike. Now..." He let go of her hand and adjusted the position of her arm. "Keep your elbow tight... and drop your shoulders a bit."

Elsa frowned in concentration, trying to follow his instructions, but her shoulders refused to co-operate. She tensed up even more when Tadashi walked round behind her, his hands on her shoulders, trying to position them. "Relax, Elsa. You're way too tense." She thought she heard a mumbled 'It's no wonder you get headaches,' but she was too distracted to comment.

"Elsa. Take a deep breath in and let it out slowly, okay? In... and _out..._" As she breathed out, he applied gentle pressure to her shoulders, forcing them lower. He held his hands there for a moment as she started to breathe normally again, making sure they didn't rise up. "That's better." He grinned, walking back round to her front. "Now. You're almost there. But the power doesn't actually come from your arms, it comes from your hips. Actually... " He looked thoughtful for a moment, before taking both her hands and pulling her away from the tree into the open space he'd been practising in before. "let's start from the bottom."

"... don't you mean 'top'?"

He grinned, his brown eyes glinting as they stepped into the sunlight, letting go of her hands when they were in the open. "Nope. From the bottom. None of it works unless you have a good, solid foundation, so first thing is your stance. I'll uhm... I'll show you a simpler technique to begin with. Choku zuki, in zenkutsu dachi - a punch, in a forward stance. Okay?"

"... you know I won't remember the Japanese terms, right?"

"Eeh, I'm sure you'd pick them up eventually." Tadashi moved to stand beside her, acting out his instructions alongside her, "Okay, stand feet shoulder width apart... okay, now without moving your feet, kneel down. ... that's it. Okay, take your left hand... no, sorry, your _right_ hand, make a fist and place it in front of your knee. Make it touch- right. Okay, now, take your _left_ hand, make a fist and put that in front of your right fist. Right, now... without moving your left, move your right foot so it's in front of your left fist... wait, no... round the outside, so your arms are inside your knee... awesome. Okay, now, brace yourself with your left hand, and push yourself up but _don't_ move your feet_._"

"... how can you _stand_ like this?"

"Practise." Tadashi chuckled, and crouched back down on the floor again, taking hold of Elsa's knee, and pushing it out slightly. "You shouldn't be able to see your big toe. Well. If you didn't have sneakers on, you wouldn't be able to see your big toe. Now, just turn that foot inwards _slightly_... there. Zenkutsu dachi. Forward stance."

"I'm just glad I'm not wearing jeans."

There was a momentary pause, while Tadashi took another swig of his water, before clearing his throat and standing in front of her. "Okay, make a fist."

"... just... a normal fist?"

"Yeah, yeah. If you were going to pummel Fred, how would you make a fist."

She paused briefly, thinking, before making a fist and holding it in front of her.  
Tadashi took her fist in his hands, looking it over. He smirked slightly, "... that's perfect, actually. Remind me never to creep up on you." Elsa just gave him an innocent shrug. "Okay, next thing... you know what, just stand normally for now. Sorry."

Elsa stood up straight with a slight wince, flexing her ankle. "How long have you been doing this?"

"Uh... almost eleven years."

"It shows." She couldn't help the quick glance at his broad, muscular chest, and tried to back pedal when Tadashi's cheeks reddened slightly. "I mean... all that practice has refined your... techniques."

"Well they say practice makes perfect, right?"

Elsa could only make a non-committal sound of agreement, focusing once more on her extended right fist. Tadashi did the same, explaining the dynamics of a proper punch, how each part of her arm had to move; how her elbow had to remain line with her hip; when and how to twist her wrist; how to pull the other hand back to test against her hip. He would correct her technique every so often, a touch to her elbow here, a hand to the back of hers there. Minor adjustments, but his close proximity meant it took her far longer to grasp the nuances of the movement than she had thought it should.

"Okay, stand in zenkutsu dachi again, and punch slowly."

Elsa moved into the forward stance, adjusting her knee so she couldn't see her sneaker, and punched. She wobbled slightly, but kept her balance. "This... doesn't feel very stable."

"Your hips aren't aligned properly. May I?" It was the first time Tadashi had deliberately asked if he could make contact, but despite her confusion, Elsa nodded. His reason was soon made clear, as he walked around to stand behind her and placed his hands low on her hips, turning them slightly to face forward. "Generally, when you're attacking, your hips should face forward. When you defend, they're turned to the side, like this." He slowly turned her hips to face to the left, his hands not leaving her sides. "Doing this reduces your target area, so your opponent has fewer options." He turned her to face forward again.

"For now though, keep your hips forward, your back straight- not _that_ straight... right. This is how you should end up." There was a pause, and Elsa only realised he had moved when she felt the warmth of his hands leave her hips. He was rubbing the back of his neck as he came round to stand beside her, something she had come to realise was a nervous tic. She was glad she wasn't the only one feeling a bit nervous right now.

He moved into the same position that she was in, talking her through the entire technique, the timing, the small flick she needed to do with her hips in order to lock everything into place. He then talked her through a punch with the other hand, but her feet in the same position, having to make very few corrections. Within minutes, they were punching the air in unison. Elsa frowned over at him when Tadashi let out a muffled cry on his tenth punch. He quickly waved away her concerned look, "It's called a Kiai. It's an outburst of energy, it's supposed to focus everything for that split second when you attack."

He stood normally again, and Elsa happily took that as a signal to do the same. She let out a small groan, her muscles not used to the odd stance, and Tadashi quickly moved in to make sure she was alright.

"It's fine. I'm just... this is probably the closest I've come to sport in a long while." She smiled, rubbing her shoulders.

"Well, karate's not just a sport - it probably sounds quite clichéd, but it's a way of life. At the very least, it's a good way to unwind. And with practise, everything becomes second nature." Tadashi picked up his water bottle and baseball cap from the floor and slipped his feet back into his sandals. "If... if you want, I could show you a bit more. I'll be here most Sundays. And your afternoon tea and cake will taste even nicer afterwards..."

Ah, yes. Part two of her Sunday routine. After her walk through the park, she would wander to the Lucky Cat Café and partake in some jasmine green tea - something Aunt Cass had suggested she try, and a slice of chocolate cake. Afterwards she would make her way home, maybe stop off at the grocery store for something for dinner, before enjoying the rest of her day at home, maybe sat by the window with a book, or curled up in front of the TV with a film Honey had lent her, because she just _had_ to watch it.

Yes, Sundays were lazy days. But Elsa was certainly tempted by Tadashi's offer. And she _did_ feel more relaxed...

"... okay. But... don't expect me to remember 'zenkutsu dachi' next Sunday."

Tadashi smirked, "Uh huh. Don't you speak like, four languages? Fluently?"

Or five. But he wasn't wrong, and Elsa wasn't going to correct him. Instead she smiled sheepishly, giving him an small shrug. Tadashi just chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sure you'd pick up the terms fairly quickly. I mean... you've picked up this techniques well enough, so..."

"You're a good teacher."

"Thanks." He smiled, putting his cap back on his head, the shade provided by the brim hiding the slight blush blossoming on his cheeks. "Uhm... listen, I'm was going to head back to the café, grab something to eat... I know it's earlier than normal for you but... d'you wanna come?"

_... never hurts to break from routine once in a while, right?_

Except once in a while while became every Sunday. Elsa would go for her walk in the park, breaking into a jog, using the opportunity to warm up. She'd find the gnarled cherry blossom tree and the man sitting beneath it. They'd stretch - Elsa would fight the urge to jump into the small lake at the view provided - and Tadashi would teach Elsa karate.

Three months of Sundays later, Tadashi and Elsa were sat with their backs up to the tree trunk, taking shelter from the sudden deluge that had had them looking like drowned rats within seconds. Tadashi held out his towel, then paused, looking at the dripping cloth.

"...maybe not." He chuckled, wringing out the towel, peering out through the branches, "Doesn't look like this is going to let up any time soon." He sat back, his bare arm resting against her almost-bare one. "We can wait it out, but I don't want you to catch a cold or anything."

"Don't worry about me. I don't mind the cold."

Tadashi hummed in response, raising a sceptical eyebrow. "Maybe so, but warm and dry is preferable." He leaned around Elsa to look back towards the path they had entered the park by. "There's not much cover until we're out of the park... fancy a run?"

Elsa swallowed, focusing her attention back on Tadashi's face, at the hair plastered to his forehead, at the beads of rain clinging to his eye lashes-

_Elsa! Respond!_

"A... a run. A run! Okay. Sure."

"... you okay?"

She bit her lip, nodding. Tadashi shifted slightly to rest on his knees, his hand reaching up to her forehead, gently brushing rain-soaked hair from her eyes. He lowered his voice slightly, his finger following in the wake of a raindrop running down her face, and brushing her knee as he let his hand drop to the ground. "Y'sure?"

The rain started to beat down heavily on the leaves above them, forcing their way through and hitting the pair, but they didn't break eye contact. Elsa's small nod shook the rain from her hair, and Tadashi raised his hand again to wipe the droplets from her cheeks, pushing them to the edge of her jaw, before running his fingers into her hair and cupping the back of her head.

Tadashi moved closer, Elsa leaning in with very little encouragement from Tadashi, the heavens opening as their lips finally met, the white noise of the rain hitting the leaves above them drowning out anything that might distract them from each other. When they broke apart for air, Tadashi's eyes flicked up towards Elsa's hair, and he chuckled, reaching up and taking hold of a cherry blossom that had been forced from the tree in the storm.

"And I thought they were pretty on the _tree_."

"I don't know..." Elsa reached up to take his jaw, tilting his head down slightly before taking a blossom from his own hair, "It suits you better." She chuckled as he reached up and shook the blossoms free from his sodden hair. Elsa took care of the few that remained, before Tadashi took her hands in hers.

"...tea?" She nodded, and Tadashi stood up, before helping Elsa to her feet.

It was still raining, though not as heavily as before, and Tadashi started to count down the seconds to their dash to next piece of cover, his grip on her hand tightening, when Elsa interrupted him. "The café's not going anywhere... why don't we take our time?"

Tadashi merely grinned, tugging her out from under the tree by the hand, into the rain, and towards home.


	11. One In Ten

Based on an otpdisaster prompt on tumblr:_ Person A knowing that Person B does cute things only when A is asleep (plays with their hair, gives forehead kisses, tracing their lips, gentle snuggling, draws them, etc). One day Person A pretends to be asleep, but ends up being unable to hold back a smile as Person B begins displaying their rare affection._

* * *

Nine times out of ten, Elsa would be awake long before Tadashi. He was more of a night owl, working late into the night, staying in bed until the last minute, before he had to rush around and get ready for work. More of an early bird, Elsa would have already gotten up, rustled up some coffee and _frokost_ \- the only meal she trusted herself to make - and would straighten Tadashi's tie, pulling him to a kiss before he left for work.

However, on was the rare occasion Tadashi would wake before Elsa he would never let on. Instead he would lie still, in whatever position they had ended up in the previous night, listening to her calm, slow breathing, her quiet mumbling, feeling her fingers twitching every so often against his skin. Late on Sunday morning, he was lying atop Elsa, his head on her chest, their legs intertwined, after they had both passed out in the early hours. He heard the moment she began to wake, as her breathing changed and her heartbeat sped up ever so slightly, but he remained still. He kept his eyes shut, forcing his face to stay relaxed, as he felt the muscles in Elsa's shoulder tense slightly, her warm breath skim down her chest and into his hair as she looked down at him. He heard the quiet flump of her head falling back against the soft pillow, and soon after, one of his favourite moments of the morning began.

Elsa had never been one for public displays of affection. When she had first become a member of Tadashi's circle of friends, only Aunt Cass was able to make any sort of physical contact with the blonde - mainly because she wasn't given much of a choice when the older woman pulled her into a hug. As Elsa and Tadashi slowly got to know each other, there had been small touches on his arm here, a brush of hands there, but that was it. It had taken a long time before Elsa was comfortable enough around him for anything more, and even longer before they had come remotely close to their first kiss. As they got to know each other better, as Elsa learnt to trust him more, and trust herself around him, he began to realise she was actually an extremely tactile person, as if she were making up for years of sequestering herself away from the world. As a result, her need for contact had culminated in a habit that Tadashi found absolutely adorable.

On more occasions than he would care to admit, starting long before they had spent their first night together - he'd been far too happy to sleep that night - Tadashi had dozed off in Elsa's lap whilst they lay on his bed above the café, or on the sofa in her apartment. When she thought he was asleep, Elsa's fingers would travel slowly and carefully over Tadashi, into his hair, along his jaw, his nose. She would draw lazy circles all over his chest, his back - anywhere she could reach. The first time he'd woken up to it, he had looked up at her, just catching her content - and slightly smug - smile. The subsequent look of embarrassment that replaced it was enough to make sure he didn't interrupt her again. It had been a week or so later that the habit had resurfaced, and Tadashi did his utmost to make sure Elsa was blissfully unaware he was awake, until he couldn't keep still any longer.

Though he tried to reign it in, he couldn't help but smile against Elsa's chest. He realised she must've felt even that small movement when the soothing crawling of his skin came to an abrupt end, her fingers still. He lifted his head up to look at her, his eyes still slightly bleary, looking as if he'd just woken up. He shifted, propping himself up on his elbows, brushing a few strands of hair from her eyes, his smile growing. He said nothing, merely shifted up the bed, planting gentle kisses on her skin as he moved. If Elsa had any suspicions of him being awake prior to that point, Tadashi was determined to spend the rest of the morning, and most of the afternoon, making sure she forgot them.


	12. Decorations

Loosely based on the following prompt from otpprompts on tumblr: _Imagine Person A walking in on Person B, who has placed googly eyes over their nipples._

Set in the Snowboarding!AU for an additional lol.

* * *

"Tadashi. Are you alright?" Baymax waddled over to the door, leaning over slightly to look at his creator. Tadashi looked up at him, leaning heavily on the door handle, trying not to fall into the flat.

"Baymax, _ssshhh..!"_

Tadashi pressed a finger to his lips, before grabbing his hat and flinging it at the rack on the wall, watching as it missed the metal hook by at least a foot, before landing on the floor. "Oops."

"My scans indicate your blood alcohol level is elevated. Are you inebriated?"

"Yes. I am inebee- ibeeni- … I'm _drunk_. But only a _little _bit." He pinched his fingers together, holding them up to Baymax's face, squinting. Baymax peered into the gap, trying to see what it was he was holding, before tilting his head and looking down at Tadashi. He watched after him, as he attempted to traverse the minefield that was the clutter-free floor of the living room.

Baymax toddled slowly after him. "Do you require assistance?"

"Noo, no, I'm fine. M'goo-" He grunted as he walked into the armchair, falling into it. "Nope. No, no, no, no, I… I meant to do that. Jus'…" Tadashi ducked his head down, cup a hand around his face and whispered - albeit it rather loudly - "_don't tell Elsa."_

The robot came to a stop about a foot from the armchair. "Elsa is asleep. I do not wish to wake her."

"Me neither, so ssshhh…!"

"… I may be damaged. I can hear air escaping-"

Tadashi smirked at the robot, waving his hands dismissively, "No, no, s'me. Ssshh means _be quiet_."

"It is just an expression?"

"_Yes!- _Yes… s'an expression. N- ooh, lookit…" Tadashi's eyes were drawn to a small package on a nearby table, amidst several things that had been left behind by Anna on her last visit to her sister. He hauled himself off the chair, and fell to his knees by the table, clutching the packet like it was a delicate antique.

"Oh.. my God."

"Tadashi?"

"_Oh… my God. _Look! Lookit the little… the little eyes, look! …_look!"_

"I am looking, Tadashi."

"These are-" Tadashi gasped, his eyes widening slightly, before he hauled himself over to his computer desk, where he proceeded to stick two googly eyes on top of each of his speakers.

He doubled over, a hand clamped over his mouth in an attempt to muffle his guffaws, before slowly making his way around the living room and putting googly eyes wherever he deemed necessary. He even put some on Baymax, before stumbling over to the bedroom door - he just _had _to show Elsa his handiwork.

"Tadashi-"

"Ssssh, Baymax..!" He slowly opened the sliding door, creeping around the bed and kneeling down by Elsa's side, turning his head 90 degrees to watch her sleep. He stayed there for a few minutes, grinning inanely at his ridiculously pregnant wife, fast asleep, completely oblivious to her husband's drunken mischief.

_Pffft, I can't wake her up, _look_, she looks so _cute_… Heh… my itosh-_

Elsa turned slightly, trying to get comfortable, and Tadashi froze. He held his breath, he stopped blinking, he even stopped _thinking_, just in case it would wake Elsa up… until he realised that her t-shirt had ridden up almost entirely above her bump.

He bit his lip hard, his grin growing to enormous proportions. Quietly, he poured out the remaining few googly eyes and _ever so carefully _dropped two into place on Elsa's stomach. He lightly pressed them into place, before sitting back to admire his handiwork.

_It's wonky._

Brow furrowed in concentration, he peeled one of the eyes off Elsa's stomach, before placing it in a better location. As he moved back, he saw another set of eyes looking at him.

"… Tadashi… wh-"

"Nothing."

She raised an eyebrow, immediately suspicious at how quickly he responded. Slowly, she pushed herself, and Tadashi burst into hysterical laughter when the black pupils of the eyes started wobbling at the movement.

"What the-"

"Elsa. I require your assi-" There was a _huge _tearing sound as Baymax's arm suddenly appeared through the sliding door, his other arm in the _actual _doorway. "Uh oh."

"Baymax?!"

"My apologies. My optical sensors are… impaired." His arm retracted from the door, and his head came into view through the hole, two large googly eyes covering his own.

Elsa's jaw slowly dropped, staring in confusion at the robot, whose chubby fingers were simply unable to peel off the thin discs. She ran a hand through her hair, and felt something tugging on the skin of her stomach at the movement. Frowning, she looked down, and caught the sight of two googly eyes creating a weird face, her bellybutton as the mouth. "Oh my _god_."

She shut her eyes, dropping her head to her chest. In one ear, she had Baymax fumbling with his own face, and in the other, she had Tadashi laughing so hard he sounded like he was in pain. The latter slowly died away, and Elsa looked up, only to be greeted by Tadashi holding up her prosthetic upside down, two googly eyes on the foot. He immediately burst out laughing again.

"Tadashi… what the _actual fuck_."

He could barely _breathe_, let alone talk, and stayed in a crumpled heap on the floor at the end of the bed. When Elsa tried to direct Baymax inch by inch into the bedroom so she could help him out, his laughter only intensified, the helpless robot waddling slowly through the maze, arms outstretched, fingers wiggling to locate any obstacles in his way. Following Elsa's direction, he managed to open the door and walk in, and Elsa shuffled across the bed to peel away the fake eyes.

"Thank you, Elsa. My vision is greatly improved."

"Wonderful. Now can you take this drunken _lout _to the sofa and leave him there, please."

"But Els'-"

"_Nuh uh. _You can go giggle yourself to sleep out _there_."

"…"

"You _and _your pout!"

"Aww…" Delicately, he pushed himself up to his hands and knees, and gratefully accepted Baymax's extended hand. "Y'know… s'kinda hard to take your eyebrow thing s'rsly when y' got two- two goog- googly eyes… on your s-stomach-" He started laughing again, and almost fell over when Elsa lobbed a pillow at him. "M'going, m'going! … love you, itoshii!"

"…I'm going to kill Fred."

* * *

"…_chikushō_."

"Good afternoon, Tadashi."

"Bayma- _ow_…" Tadashi slammed his eyes shut again, groaning against the light of the living room. Even though the curtains were shut, and the lights were off.

"Elsa is not at home at the moment, but she has requested that you drink this beverage and ingest this medication. She informed me that you would wake up with 'an almighty hangover'. My scans indicate-."

"Baymax… not so _loud_…"

There was a brief pause as Baymax literally turned his volume down, "My apologies Tadashi. Do you require assistance in sitting up?"

"I want to crawl into a hole and die…"

"That action goes against my programming, Tadashi."

"… s'a figure of speech." Tadashi pushed himself slowly up off the sofa, swinging his legs around and flinching slightly at a brushing feeling down his side. He cracked an eye open, and saw a blanket beside him. Gingerly, he wrapped it around him, burrowing in it. "What time is it?"

"Almost 1pm."

"… you're kidding."

"No, Tadashi." Baymax flashed the time up on his chest, and Tadashi flinched at the bright light in his face.

He batted his hand at the robot's chest. "Okay, okay, okay, turn it off…!" Baymax did so, and Tadashi waited a moment before opening his eyes again. He looked down at the table, and saw a glass of water on the table, and what looked like two painkillers beside it. He grabbed the glass, popped the pills, and greedily drank the slightly opaque liquid, grimacing slightly at the taste of antacid, but determined to finish the glass.

His efforts were in vain; as he reached the bottom of the glass, he saw two googly eyes slowly peek over the disappearing liquid, glued to the bottom of the glass. He snorted the drink back into the cup, and it ended up all over his face, up his nose, down his t-shirt and all over the floor.

He coughed hard, trying to get his breath back, rubbing his head, the pain pounding even more fiercely now. "… I deserved that, didn't I."

"I noticed that Elsa seemed most satisfied once she had stuck the decorations to the bottom of the glass."

"She's going to kill me, isn't she."

"I do not believe Elsa would deliberately cause you permanent physical harm, Tadashi."

"Well… at least you're around for the temporary stuff."

"Yes, Tadashi."


	13. The Littlest Hamada

"Aunt Cass? Aunt Caa'ass… wakey-wakey…"

Her elbow slipped from the arm of the chair, causing her head to drop sharply, the support her hand had provided suddenly gone. Aunt Cass snapped awake, inhaling sharply, the sterile, recycled air filling her lungs and giving her a head rush. She blinked, rubbing her eyes, squinting slightly against the stark white of the corridor. The same voice that woke her up spoke again, calling her name. She looked to the side and saw her oldest nephew, looking like he'd just been dragged out of bed. Tadashi's hair was poking out in all directions, his t-shirt_still_ inside-out, his sneakers poking out from underneath plaid pyjama bottoms.

"C'mon. Come and see your new nephew… cousin? Nephew once remove-… come and see him."

Tadashi grinned before disappearing back into the side room. Aunt Cass looked down at her lap, giving Hiro's shoulders a small shake. "Come on, Uncle."

"Wha-?"

"Time to meet your nephew." She levered Hiro up to sitting, yawning as he did so. She caught sight of her watch - 9:14am. She briefly wondered if her hastily scrawled message was still stuck to the café window, having been plastered to the glass with pricing labels in the late hours of the previous evening.

_Oh, who cares. I'm sure the rabble will survive without coffee and doughnuts for one day. _Aunt Cass stood up from her chair and stretched, rubbing the back of her neck to get the kink out. Quietly, with Hiro in tow, she made her way to the door through which Tadashi had disappeared, knocking quietly. She barely heard him grant her permission to enter, and she carefully opened the door.

It was significantly darker in the room than the corridor; the curtains were drawn, only a bedside light was on. Tadashi was sat wedged between a hospital bed and a much smaller cot, his chin resting on the side of the plastic bassinet, his hand hovering just over the small bundle inside. He glanced over to the door and waved his Aunt and brother over with a warm, but tired smile.

Almost on tiptoe, Aunt Cass walked in, carefully closing the door behind Hiro. The light level in the room plummeted once more, and Aunt Cass made her way over to her nephew, desperate not to wake the much bigger bundle in the hospital bed.

She couldn't help but grin at the woman in the bed, Elsa's disheveled blonde hair coming loose from her ponytail, mouth open ever so slightly open. The only noise in the room was her quiet snoring. _She looks dead to the world, poor girl. _Not that Cass could blame her - apart from a short nap in the afternoon, Elsa had been up for almost twenty-four hours straight, and at least eight of those hours had been spent in hospital.

A harsh whisper caught her attention, and she turned to see Hiro, staring down into the bassinet. Tadashi was chuckling, "He's a newborn baby, of _course_ he's wrinkly."

"And he's got so much hair."

Tadashi shrugged, his dopey grin seemingly a permanent feature. "Y'got me there."

"You know," Aunt Cass began, moving to stand behind Hiro, slinging her arm around his shoulders, "Both of you had full heads of hair when you were born." She finally peered down into the bassinet, gently shifting the blanket away from the sleeping infant's chin. She stroked a finger across his cheek, her grin growing as his tiny mouth opened in a yawn, before closing without a sound. His eyes flickered open briefly, and the trio fell completely silent, Tadashi's lips moving in silent prayer. Aunt Cass was transfixed by the infant's huge eyes, not the deep chocolate brown of Tadashi's eyes, but the intense sapphire blue of Elsa's. She was both sad to see them close, and grateful he had remained asleep. "… neither of you had quite such _luxurious_ hair though."

Tadashi grinned, his fingers hovering just above the infant's insanely thick black hair, as if he wanted to run one through it but didn't want to risk him waking fully. "I'm sure he has his mom to blame for that." He finally tore his gaze away from the bassinet, looking over his shoulder at his sleeping wife, gently taking her hand and running his thumb over the back.

Aunt Cass grinned at him, before looking back down at the baby. Tadashi's baby. _Tadashi's son. His _son_. My little boy's not a boy anymore. He's a father. And I'm a… wait, what _does_ that make me?_

"'dashi?" Hiro said quietly, bringing Aunt Cass from her reverie, "What's his name?"

"Haruki." Tadashi turned back to face them, still holding Elsa's hand awkwardly, but not looking to let go any time soon. "His name's Haruki."

Hiro looked down at the bundle with a grin, "Hey, Haruki. I'm your Uncle Hiro."

Tadashi chuckled slightly, before biting his lip, eyes wide in fear. Elsa had shifted slightly in her sleep, groaning quietly before relaxing again. Aunt Cass placed a hand on Hiro's back before whispering to Tadashi, "We should go. Let you both- … let all _three_ of you get some well earned rest. Call if you need anything okay? We'll come back later with lunch." She stroked Haruki's cheek once more, before pulling Hiro away from the bassinet.

Tadashi carefully extracted his hand from Elsa's, then stood up and walked over to his Aunt and brother. Cass opened her arms wide, and Tadashi pulled her into a hug, almost lifting her up off the floor. He ruffled Hiro's hair slightly before pulling him into the embrace as well.

"Congratulations, sweetheart. He's gorgeous."

"Thank you, Au-" Tadashi trailed off with a yawn in Cass's ear, before he mumbled an apology. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck as they pulled away, and Cass chuckled.

"Get some sleep. We'll see you later. C'mon Uncle." She put an arm on Hiro's shoulder, steering him towards the door.

"Aunt Cass?"

She turned around to look back at Tadashi, a curious look on her face, "Mhmm?"

"Y'know… instead of calling you 'Auntie-Cousin Cass Three Times Removed' or… whatever it is… there's always Grandma."

Cass walked back over to Tadashi with a grin, giving him another quick hug before holding him by the upper arms. "Y'know, I don't think I'm _quite_ old enough to be called Grandma yet. Though I will happily assume all the responsibilities - spoiling him, giving you tips that you really don't want, telling horribly embarrassing tales about your childhood-" She quickly found herself being steered towards the door, with Hiro being picked up on the way, and found it hard to reign in her laughter.

"See you later, Aunt Cass…! Love you!"


	14. The Littlest Hamada - Part Two

She couldn't tell whether the room was warmer, or if she was. She couldn't move her hand to try and push the covers away. She couldn't move _anything _actually. She couldn't even open her eyes. Elsa heard a solitary hushed voice, but couldn't open her own mouth to speak. Her heart began pounding in her chest, and as her panic grew she found it harder and harder to breathe. Suddenly, she felt a warmth against her cheek - a hand, she realised - and the once soothing voice became louder, more urgent. Finally, her eyes obeyed her commands and flew open, her body catching up a second so later. Elsa sat up quickly, and groaned at the protest of her aching muscles.

"Elsa, it's okay! Look at me; you're okay." Tadashi gently took Elsa by the upper arms, rubbing with his thumbs, muttering assurances until her breathing calmed. Elsa stared down at the bed for a long moment, before shutting her eyes and sighing heavily. Tadashi pulled her into a hug, resting his chin atop her head, as he had done on several occasions before. Despite Elsa's reassurances that she didn't mind, he had seen - even amidst her contractions - that being in a hospital was doing nothing to help keep her calm. Unfortunately they hadn't much of a choice; Haruki was being a troublemaker before he'd even arrived - he'd been in an awkward position for weeks, _and _he'd shown up two weeks early, dashing any hope any of them might have had for a hospital-free birth.

"I hate hospitals." Elsa's voice was muffled against Tadashi's chest, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I know, itoshii. But it's only for the day." He looked down at her exhausted face with a warm smile, "We'll be home in time for dinner. Or should I say the feast that I'm sure Aunt Cass is throwing together. … speaking of food." Tadashi turned his head slightly at the quiet grumbling coming from the cot behind him, and saw Haruki's hair flapping about slightly as he fidgeted. He pressed another kiss to Elsa's head before letting her sit back against the head of the bed. Quickly, he turned to face the bassinet, reached in and carefully picked up the fidgeting infant - Elsa couldn't help but grin as he muttered "Hold his head!" under his breath.

Haruki grunted slightly in Tadashi's arms, his eyes wide open, his tiny mouth working to find food. Tadashi chuckled, carefully rearranging the blanket on his way back to the bed, sitting next to Elsa on the bed. "I think someone's hungry again."

"Let's see if my second attempt at being a cow is better than the first." She sighed dramatically, casting Tadashi a deadpan expression as she lifted her oversized t-shirt up, shuffling further up the bed to get in a comfortable position to feed Haruki.

"Itoshii-"

"Better than than being a whale, I guess."

_"Elsa."_ Tadashi raised an eyebrow at her, smirking slightly. "You were _never _a whale. And you're not a cow, either." He carefully passed Haruki over, and watched in awe as his little mouth immediately latched on to Elsa's nipple, his grumpy face relaxing as soon as he began suckling. "You're a new mom. And a gorgeous one at that."

"… I'm a mom." She looked up from Haruki, staring into middle distance as if she had suddenly worked out a millennia-old puzzle. "That's…"

"Weird? Still not used to it?" That was how Tadashi was finding it - someone could call him dad and it would take a few seconds for him to realise they were talking about _him _\- but the pensive look on Elsa's face made him think there was a little more to it than that.

"… I didn't think I'd ever be a parent." Elsa said, her voice quiet, "I always thought the closest I'd get would be babysitting Anna's kids, but…" She trailed off, biting down on her lip. Tadashi put an arm around her shoulders, running a hand into her hair and crawling gently, pulling her closer.

"You're already an amazing mother, Itoshii. Our kids are going to be the luckiest kids around." He smirked as he saw her hairline move ever so slightly, even more so when she looked up at him, her eyebrow raised. "What?"

"Plural, huh?"

"I can dream, can't I?"

"The past 24 hours were most certainly not a dream, I'll have you know."

"You already did. Me and the rest of the staff on this floor. In various languages."

"Hey, it _hurt_."

"You almost broke my hand. You. The woman who can be at the bottom of a dog pile on solid ice and make it look comfortable. I am in no doubt that it hurt."

"And you want me to do it all again."

"I… uh…" Tadashi mouth flapped open and closed, as he tried to say yes without saying yes. Elsa could only keep a straight face for so long, her grin growing as Tadashi's cheeks reddened more and more. She was about to comment when there was a knock on the door.

"Elsa? Tadashi, s'me!" Anna's excited voice filtered in through the wood of the door, and Elsa could envision her pressed right up against the doorframe, bouncing up and down. "Can I come in?" Tadashi looked to Elsa for her answer - he wasn't the one breastfeeding.

"Anna can. Uhm…"

"Not Kristoff and Co.?"

Tadashi nodded at her quiet 'no', and continued over to the door, talking before he'd reached the door. "Just you for now, Anna."

"Kristoff's at home," She grinned when Tadashi opened the door, "I didn't think having the terrible two around would be a good thing right now." She ducked under his arm and into the room, quietly squealing at the sight of her sister and nephew, and immediately zipping over to the bed. "Oh my god,_ lookit the cutie..!_ Hi, Els'."

Tadashi snorted; he was fairly certain bats were circling the hospital by this point. He wandered round to stand on Elsa's right, his spot on her left now occupied. "The cutie's name is-"

"Haruki. I know. Elsa texted me." She grinned at him for a split second, before looking back down at her nephew. "He's so _cute_… even with Tadashi's ears."

"Hey..!" Tadashi scowled, his hand rising to tug on one of his ear lobe. "They're not that big…"

Anna merely raised an eyebrow in an eerie imitation of her sister. "Uh huh. Well, I'm sure this mop of hair will cover 'em up." She grinned innocently at him, and got an eyeroll in response. "…actually, he's got quite a few of your features. I mean, it's hard to tell, he's so tin- oh my goodness, lookit his little _feet!"_ She dissolved into squeals once more, cooing at Haruki.

Elsa shifted ever so slightly against the pillows and Haruki's eyes flew open, causing Anna to gawp. "Oh wow, Elsa…"

Tadashi grinned proudly, "He's got his mother's eyes, though." His grin faded slightly when he caught the look between Elsa and Anna. "What? What'd I say?"

"Nothing, Tadashi," reassured Elsa, smiling up at him. "It's just… I used to get that a lot. Kai once told me that Papa both loved and hated that I didn't grow out of it - something to do with puppy dog eyes." Elsa mumbled the last bit, and Anna snorted.

Tadashi just looked confused, "Grow out of it? What d'you mean?"

"Most babies have blue eyes when they're born. You can never be sure of their actual eye colour until they're about six months old. Norah and Lucas' eyes were both brown by the time they were seven months."

Tadashi's face suddenly changed from understanding to a mild pout, "Aww… here's hoping some of your recessive genes are as stubborn as you are."

Elsa chuckled, "I'll take that as a slightly veiled compliment."

"I can be more direct if you want."

"_Get a room _you two. …don't say it." Anna narrowed her eyes at them both, as they both bit back the comment that they already had a room; Anna just happened to be in it. "_Anyway_. I would've asked before, but _cute _\- how are you?"

"I'm okay. Tired, sore and desperate for a nice, warm shower… but okay."

"When are they discharging you?"

"This evening." Elsa's eyes looked up to Tadashi for confirmation, and Anna's followed.

"Any time after lunch, so long as everyone's happy. Aunt Cass is going to pick up the car from our place and bring food over in a few hours, take us back to the café. The gang's going to meet us there too, just for a short while- if that's alright?"

Elsa chuckled, carefully moving the now satiated Haruki to her shoulder, patting him softly on the back, "As if _anyone _could stop them from coming."

"Elsa… you're going to need to pat him a bit harder than that." Elsa looked at her sister with a slightly horrified look. Anna smiled sympathetically. "I know. But only a little bit, look." Anna didn't take Haruki from Elsa, instead showing her as he rested against her shoulder. Very quickly, she got the desired response. "See?"

"… you were humming."

"I was?"

"Mhmm… mama used to hum that tune."

"Before or after I would dribble all over her shoulder?"

"… you are _such _a stinker." Anna couldn't be sure whether or not Elsa was referring to her sister or her son, and chuckled as the dribbling infant was handed over to his father… almost.

"Anna, you wanna hold him? I think I hear the hot water pipes calling someone's name…" Tadashi had barely finished his sentence before Anna was holding out her hands, happily taking hold of her nephew, old habits resurfacing quickly. Tadashi grinned, and held a hand out to Elsa. She graciously accepted his offer of feeling more human, wrapping her arms around his neck as he carried her to the small bathroom, leaving Aunty Anna to hum Haruki to sleep.


End file.
